Kerala is in full election mode as the state goes to polls on April 9, 2026 (Image for representation) | Photo credit: C. SURESHKUMAR
Kerala is in full election mode with the Election Commission of India (ECI) announcing April 9 as the date for the 2026 State Legislative Assembly elections.
Polled votes will be counted on May 4.
Of the 140 assembly constituencies in Kerala, 14 are reserved for Scheduled Caste communities and two for Scheduled Tribes.
Kerala will have 30,471 polling stations for the 2026 assembly elections. Of these, 6,130 are in urban areas and 24,341 in rural areas.
Kerala’s political landscape is heating up as the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) aims to overcome anti-incumbency and internal dissent to secure a rare third consecutive term.
Led by the Congress and out of power for a decade, the United Democratic Front (UDF) faces high stakes but is buoyed by a strong performance in local polls in 2025.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is looking to build on its 2024 Lok Sabha gains and local government foothold in Thiruvananthapuram to disrupt Kerala’s traditional LDF-UDF power cycle and restore its presence in the Assembly.
Published – March 30, 2026 12:21 PM IST
