The 2026 Kerala Legislative Assembly elections have delivered a massive upset, with the UDF winning 102 seats, while the ruling CPI(M)-led LDF has been reduced to just 35. Here are some interesting nuances from the results:
Biggest ever win for Congress
The Congress equalled its best-ever performance in Kerala by winning 63 seats. Notably, this is also the strongest performance by the UDF since its formation. In 1977, the United Front—of which the INC was a part—won 114 seats, but the Congress itself secured only 38. Until now, the UDF’s best tally was 99 seats in 2001, when the Congress had also won 63 seats. All sitting MLAs of the Congress won in these elections.
Biggest ever for the BJP
The BJP recorded its best-ever performance in Kerala, winning three seats. The party had first opened its account in the state by winning Nemom in 2016, but lost the seat in 2021. This time, under state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, it has regained Nemom.
Cabinet bloodbath
All but one minister in the Pinarayi Vijayan 2.0 cabinet contested the 2026 polls. Of them, 13 lost, while several others scraped through with narrow margins. Even Vijayan trailed in multiple rounds of counting. Interestingly, Leader of the Opposition and UDF campaign strategist V.D. Satheesan had predicted that around a dozen ministers would lose.
Responding to the results, veteran Congress leader and former Union defence minister A.K. Antony described the outcome as an “anti-government cyclone.” He pointed to a crucial trend: a section of traditional Left sympathisers appears to have voted for the UDF. According to Antony, even some Left cadres may have backed the UDF to prevent prolonged one-sided rule, drawing parallels with West Bengal. This, he argued, contributed significantly to the anti-incumbency wave against the LDF and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Notably, the LDF rebels played a huge role in the damage that the front faced. Three CPI(M) rebels— V. Kunhikrishnan in Payyannur and T.K. Govindan in Taliparamba and G. Sudhakaran in Ambalapuzha— won. CPI(M) faced a massive vote leak in most of its strongholds, including in their sure-shot seats like Dharmadom and Mattannur, where they had earned over 50,000 margin last time.
OC’s unseen presence
This was the first Assembly election since the death of former chief minister and Congress leader Oommen Chandy. Yet, OC remained a strong presence in the UDF’s campaign.
Several UDF candidates, including those from allied parties, began their campaigns by visiting his tomb at Puthuppally. The proposed Oommen Chandy Health Insurance Scheme—offering ₹25 lakh annual health coverage per family—emerged as a key welfare promise in the 2026 Kerala Assembly election.
As results came in, Congress workers installed a large flex board of Oommen Chandy at the KPCC headquarters bearing the Malayalam line: “Ee manushyan sathyamaayum neethimaan aayirunnu” (“This man was indeed righteous”), the same inscription found on his tomb.
Meanwhile, his son, Chandy Oommen, recorded one of the highest victory margins among Congress candidates. Campaigning on a bicycle, he won by 52,907 votes.
Kerala Congress (M) zeroed
Kerala Congress (M), led by Jose K. Mani, is arguably the biggest loser in this election. All 12 candidates of the KC(M), including its chairman Jose K. Mani and minister Roshy Augustine, lost in the polls. Notably, there were rumours ahead of the campaign phase that KC(M) would come back to the UDF. Notably, the UDF leadership also had a favourable stance towards KC(M) coming to the UDF. But the stance of minister Roshy became decisive in KC(M) staying back in the LDF, which in turn resulted in the largest ever defeat ever since its formation. Meanwhile, Kerala Congress (KEC), led by P.J. Joseph and is a UDF ally, won seven out of the eight seats that it contested. Kerala Congress (J), which is another ally of the UDF, once again won its sitting seat.
Whitewash districts
The UDF swept all seats in five districts— Idukki, Ernakulam, Wayanad, Malappuram, and Kottayam. Notably, these districts have significant Christian or Muslim populations, suggesting a strong consolidation of minority votes against the CPI(M)-led LDF.