Political parties in Kerala explained

Kerala Legislative Assembly
Native Name:Keralam Niyamasabha
Native Name Lang:Malayalam
Structure1:Niyamasabha 2021.svg
Legislature:15th Kerala Assembly
Structure1 Res:300px
Political Groups1:Government (98)

(98)

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Opposition (41)

(41)

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Vacant (1)

(1)[2]

Kerala's major political parties are aligned under two coalitions, namely the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF) since the late 1970s. Kerala was the first Indian state to have coalition government as early as 1961.[3]

Pre-poll alliances

State-level alliances

The Left Democratic Front (LDF), also known as Left Front (Kerala), is an alliance of left-wing political parties in the state of Kerala, India. It is the current ruling political alliance of Kerala, since 2016.[5] It is one of the two major political alliances in Kerala, the other being Indian National Congress-led United Democratic Front, each of which has been in power alternately for the last four decades.[6] LDF has won the elections to the State Legislature of Kerala in the years 1980,[7] 1987,[8] 1996,[9] 2006,[10] 2016[11] and had a historic re-election in 2021[12] where an incumbent government was re-elected for first time in 40 years.[13] LDF has won 6 out of 10 elections since the formation of the alliance in 1980. The alliance consists of CPI(M), CPI and various smaller parties.[14]

LDF has been in power in the State Legislature of Kerala under E. K. Nayanar (1980–1981, 1987–1991, 1996–2001),[15] V. S. Achuthanandan (2006–2011),[16] Pinarayi Vijayan (2016–current).[17] E. K. Nayanar served as the Chief Minister of Kerala for 11 years and later became the longest serving Chief Minister of Kerala.[18]

The alliance led by Pinarayi Vijayan returned to power in 2016 Assembly Election winning 91 out of 140 seats and further increasing its tally to 99 seats in the 2021 Assembly Election. Pinarayi Vijayan became the first Chief minister of Kerala to be re-elected after completing a full term (five years) in office after a historic election in 2021 where an incumbent government was re-elected for the first time in 40 years.[19]

The United Democratic Front (UDF) is the Indian National Congress-led alliance of centre to centre-right political parties in the Indian state of Kerala.[21] It is one of the two major political alliances in Kerala, the other being Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front, each of which has been in power alternately since 1980 E. K. Nayanar ministry.[22] Most of the United Democratic Front constituents are members of the Indian National Congress-led United Progressive Alliance at pan-India level.

United Democratic Front was created by the Indian National Congress (then known as Congress-Indira) party leader K. Karunakaran in 1979, as a successor to the existing Congress-led alliance.[23] The alliance first came to power in 1981 (K. Karunakaran ministry) and has won elections to the state legislature of Kerala in the years 1982 (Karunakaran ministry),[24] 1991 (Karunakaran and A. K. Antony ministries),[25] 2001 (Antony and Oommen Chandy ministries),[26] and 2011 (Oommen Chandy ministry).[27] The alliance currently acts as the opposition in the state legislature of Kerala (after the 2021 legislative assembly election). United Democratic Front leaders V. D. Satheesan and K. Sudhakaran currently serves as the Leader of the Opposition and Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee President respectively.[28]

The alliance currently consists of Indian National Congress, Indian Union Muslim League, Kerala Congress (Joseph), Kerala Congress (Jacob), Revolutionary Socialist Party and a variety of other smaller parties. The alliance follows big tent policy and includes a variety political parties.

National-level alliances

National Parties

Political partyFlagElectoral symbolPolitical positionFoundedFounderKL unit leaderAllianceSeats
Lok SabhaRajya SabhaKerala Legislative Assembly
Communist Party of India (Marxist)Left-wing7 November 1964E. M. S. NamboodiripadM. V. GovindanLDF
Indian National CongressCentre to Centre-left28 December 1885Allan Octavian HumeK. SudhakaranUDF
Bharatiya Janata PartyRight-wing6 April 1980Atal Bihari VajpayeeK. SurendranNDA
Aam Aadmi PartyCentre26 November 2012Arvind KejriwalP. C. CyriacN/A
Bahujan Samaj PartyCentre14 April 1984Kanshi RamAdvocate PralhadanN/A

State Parties

Party!rowspan=2 class=unsortable
FlagElection
symbol		Political
position		IdeologyFoundedLeader(s)Kerala Unit LeaderAllianceSeats
Lok SabhaRajya SabhaState
assemblies
Left-wingCommunism
Marxism–Leninism
Anti-capitalism
Socialism
Secularism		1925D. RajaKanam RajendranLDF
CentreIndian nationalism
Secularism		2024Sharad PawarPC ChackoLDF
Centre-RightWelfare[30]
Democratic socialism[31] 		1979Jose K. ManiJose K. ManiLDF
Centre-left to left-wingSecularism1999H. D. Deve GowdaMathew T. ThomasLDF
Centre-leftSocialism1997Lalu Prasad Yadav
Tejashwi Yadav		Adv. John JohnLDF
Centre-right[32] Muslim interests
Social conservatism		1948Hyderali Shihab ThangalSadiq Ali ThangalUDF
Far-leftCommunism
Marxism–Leninism[33]
Revolutionary socialism		1940Manoj Bhattacharya[34] A. A. AzizUDF

Registered Recognized/Unrecognized Parties

PartyFlagElection
symbol		Political
position		IdeologyFoundedLeader(s)Kerala Unit LeaderAllianceSeats
Lok SabhaRajya SabhaState
assemblies
Secularism1994Ebrahim Sulaiman SaitAhamed DevarkovilLDF
Centre-RightWelfare1964P. J. JosephP. J. JosephUDF
Kerala Democratic PartyCentre-LeftDemocratic socialism
Liberalism		2021Mani C. KappanMani C. KappanUDF
Centre-RightSecularism
Socialism
Democracy		1993Anoop JacobAnoop JacobUDF
Left-WingCommunism
Marxism-Leninism		2016Mangat Ram PaslaK. K. RemaUDF
1977K. B. Ganesh KumarK. B. Ganesh KumarLDF
1978Kadannappalli RamachandranKadannappalli RamachandranLDF
2011V. AbdurahimanV. AbdurahimanLDF
Centre-LeftSocialism2016Dr. K. C. JosephDr. K. C. JosephLDF
Communism
Marxism
Luxemburgism		1986C. P. JohnC. P. JohnUDF
Left-WingLeft-wing nationalism
Socialism
Anti-imperialism
Marxism		1939Naren ChatterjeeG. DevarajanUDF
Communism
Marxism		1994Rajan BabuRajan BabuUDF
National Janata DalAdv John JohnAdv John JohnUDF
2015Binoy JosephBinoy JosephLDF
2015Thushar VellappallyThushar VellappallyNDA
Vishnupuram ChandrasekharanVishnupuram ChandrasekharanNDA
Dalit rights
Adivasi rights		2016C. K. JanuC. K. JanuNDA
Far-Left2016Kovoor KunjumonKovoor KunjumonLDF

See Also

Notes and References

  1. News: BJP overall, Left in Kerala: JD(S) likely to lose state unit as banner of revolt is raised. The Indian Express. en. 25 September 2023. 19 December 2023. 22 October 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20231022184940/https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/bjp-left-kerala-jds-banner-revolt-raised-8953648/. live.
  2. Web site: Kerala Court Cancels CPI(M) MLA's Election From Reserved Devikulam Seat. 19 December 2023. 12 April 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230412014011/https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/kerala-court-cancels-cpm-mlas-election-from-reserved-devikulam-seat-3876230. live.
  3. Book: Menon, A. Sreedhara . A Survey of Kerala History. 2007. DC Books. 9788126415786.
  4. Web site: 2021-05-02. LDF wins 99 of 140 seats in Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan to be CM again. 2021-09-22. The News Minute. en.
  5. News: The Left returns in Kerala . The Hindu . 20 May 2021 . 3 June 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230603072711/https://www.thehindu.com/data/data-assembly-election-2021-the-left-returns-in-kerala/article34482949.ece . live .
  6. Web site: Election history of Kerala . CEO Kerala . Chief Election Officer, Kerala . 20 May 2021 . 9 May 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160509200606/http://www.ceo.kerala.gov.in/electionhistory.html . live .
  7. Web site: 15 February 1980 . Victory of CPI-M-led LDF in Kerala elections manifests swing away from Congress(I) . India Today . 20 May 2021 . 13 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230513172757/https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/states/story/19800215-victory-of-cpi-m-led-ldf-in-kerala-elections-manifests-swing-away-from-congressi-806437-2014-02-10 . live .
  8. Web site: 15 April 1987 . It was a vote for secularism, democracy and progress: E.K. Nayanar . India Today . 20 May 2021 . 18 November 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211118062038/https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/19870415-it-was-a-vote-for-secularism-democracy-and-progress-e.k.-nayanar-799832-1987-04-15 . live .
  9. Web site: 31 May 1996 . Elections 1996: Marxists-led LDF dislodges Congress(I) and its allies . India Today . 20 May 2021 . 18 November 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211118062450/https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/19960531-elections-1996-marxists-led-ldf-dislodges-congressi-and-its-allies-833003-1996-05-31 . live .
  10. Web site: 10 April 2016 . Return of the warrior V. S. Achuthanandan . India Today . 20 May 2021 . 18 November 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211118062447/https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/nation/story/20060410-achuthanandan-returns-to-kerala-poll-fray-as-politburo-changes-its-mind-785568-2006-04-10 . live .
  11. Web site: 26 May 2016 . Pinarayi Vijayan takes oath as Kerala Chief Minister Hailing from a poor toddy tapper's family, Vijayan, a first time Chief Minister, took the oath in Malayalam . Indian Express . 20 May 2021 . 13 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230513172751/https://indianexpress.com/article/elections-2016/india/india-news-india/pinarayi-vijayan-sworn-in-as-kerala-cm-2818813/ . live .
  12. Web site: 2 May 2021 . Election results: Left creates history in Kerala . Times of India . 20 May 2021 . 18 May 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210518115709/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/election-results-how-left-may-create-history-in-both-kerala-bengal/articleshow/82354409.cms#aoh=16214989565407&referrer=https://www.google.com&amp_tf=From %1$s . live .
  13. Web site: 2 May 2021 . How 'captain' Pinarayi Vijayan led LDF in Kerala, is set to break a decades-old record . The Print . 20 May 2021 . 13 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230513172756/https://theprint.in/politics/how-captain-pinarayi-vijayan-led-ldf-in-kerala-is-set-to-break-a-decades-old-record/650583/ . live .
  14. Web site: Alliance Wise and Party Wise Kerala Election Results 2021 LIVE . First Post . 20 May 2021 . 3 January 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230103202425/https://www.firstpost.com/kerala-assembly-election-2021/alliance-party-wise-tally-live-results-updates . live .
  15. Web site: KERALA NIYAMASABHA E.K.NAYANAR . stateofkerala.in . 20 May 2021 . 28 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230528032719/https://stateofkerala.in/niyamasabha/e_k_nayanar.php . live .
  16. Web site: Kerala Council of Ministers:2006–2011 . www.keralaassembly.org . 20 May 2021 . 18 August 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220818104847/http://www.keralaassembly.org/ministry2006.html . live .
  17. Web site: Chief Ministers of kerala . kerala.gov.in . 20 May 2021 . 17 August 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210817230704/https://kerala.gov.in/chief-ministers-since-1957 . dead .
  18. Web site: E.K.Nayanar . niyamasabha.org . 20 May 2021 . 8 September 2013 . https://archive.today/20130908154040/http://www.niyamasabha.org/codes/members/m474.htm . live .
  19. News: LDF shatters Kerala's 40-year record, Pinarayi Vijayan now the Marxist Helmsman . The Economic Times . 3 May 2021 . 6 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230206100814/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/elections/assembly-elections/kerala/ldf-shatters-keralas-40-year-record-pinarayi-vijayan-now-the-marxist-helmsman/articleshow/82359214.cms?from=mdr . live .
  20. News: 2021-09-20. In Kerala, UDF workers lay siege to State, Central offices. en-IN. The Hindu. 2021-09-22. 0971-751X.
  21. News: India's election results were more than a 'Modi wave'. The BJP's primary rival, the centrist Indian National Congress (Congress), won only 52 seats. . . 31 May 2019.
  22. Web site: Election history of Kerala. CEO Kerala. Chief Election Officer, Kerala.
  23. News: PTI . 23 December 2010 . Who was K Karunakaran? . NDTV . 11 February 2021.
  24. Congress(I) leader Karunakaran sworn in as Kerala CM. India Today. en. 19 May 2019.
  25. Isaac. T. M. Thomas. Kumar. S. Mohana. 1991. Kerala Elections, 1991: Lessons and Non-Lessons. Economic and Political Weekly. 26. 47. 2691–2704. 0012-9976. 4398338.
  26. News: LDF swept out in Kerala. Menon. Girish. 14 May 2001. 2 February 2021.
  27. News: This story is from May 13, 2011 Kerala assembly elections 2011: UDF wins by narrow margin. Anantha Krishnan. 13 May 2011. 2 February 2021. Times of India.
  28. News: Chandran . Cynthia . 3 October 2020 . MM Hassan takes charge as the UDF convener . The New Indian Express .
  29. Web site: Staff Writer. 2021-03-08. 'New Kerala with Modi': NDA unveils campaign slogan ahead of assembly polls. 2021-09-22. mint. en.
  30. Web site: KM Mani: The man behind the 'Theory of the Toiling Class'. 10 April 2019. 20 March 2021. The New Indian Express.
  31. Web site: K M Mani honoured at British Parliament Hall. 7 September 2012. 20 March 2021. The New Indian Express.
  32. Web site: A coloured scheme of things. live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230719145124/https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/india-news-a-coloured-scheme-of-things/301479 . Jul 19, 2023 .
  33. Book: Bidyut Chakrabarty. Communism in India: Events, Processes and Ideologies. 2014. Oxford University Press. 978-0-19-997489-4. 61.
  34. Web site: Indian citizenship act against humanity: Manoj Bhattacharya. prothomalo.com. March 2020.

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