Data collection is underway for the Congress to frame charges against each of the Left Democratic Front (LDF)-ruled local bodies in the state.
“Our campaign in these local bodies will depend on these indictments being published in mid-November,” a member of the party’s political affairs committee (PAC) said after its meeting in the capital on Wednesday.
While the charges will be specific to the local body, the United Democratic Front (UDF) campaign will also highlight the ongoing investigation into the embezzlement of gold from statue cases and door frames at the Sabarimala temple. “The arrest of N. Vasu, former president of the Travancore Devaswom Board, in the case has put the CPI(M) on the back foot as he has certain party links,” the leader said.
The Congress views the government’s announcement of the killed welfare payments just in time for the polls as a dishonest attempt to deceive voters and a leader The Hindu spoke to said the Congress campaign will try to expose it.
A Congress insider said the BJP posed a more permanent and immediate threat to the UDF’s electoral prospects. “A heavy loss of anti-incumbency votes to the BJP would perhaps cost the Congress more than the LDF,” he said.
Therefore, he said, caste, age and religious demographics, including public profile and social contacts, informed the selection of UDF candidates, including the inclusion of household names in the fray.
Importantly, the local opinion polls, widely seen as a rough gauge of Kerala’s political mood ahead of the 2026 assembly elections, are also a personal test of leadership for Congress’ top brass in the state.
The party recently laid out the broad outlines of a winning strategy for the local polls in Wayanad. The election project is called “Mission 2025”.
Notably, the party has tasked six top leaders to ensure the UDF’s victory in six municipal corporations in Kerala, which the Congress sees as widening its path to victory in the 2026 assembly elections.
They include Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan (Ernakulam), former KPCC presidents Ramesh Chennithala (Kozhikode) and K. Muraleedharan (Thiruvananthapuram), Congress working president PC Vishnunath (Kollam) and AICC secretary Roji M. John (Thrissur).
Published – 12 Nov 2025 21:26 IST
