The final budget session of the 15th Kerala Legislative Assembly, which begins on Tuesday, heralds a devastating political battle between the ruling front and the opposition. The Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF) seem set to play high-stakes political dice as the drumbeat of the upcoming Assembly elections nears.
The LDF hopes to make a convincing case for a third consecutive term in the government in the governor’s policy speech. He is likely to try to use the ensuing debate on the motion of thanks to portray the UDF as a shaky coalition increasingly beholden to religious fundamentalist forces and to present itself as a stable, secular and proven alternative to voters.
The LDF will also use the NSS and SNDP Yogam’s gloomy view of the UDF’s electoral prospects and their criticism of Opposition Leader VD Satheesan, including allegations of belittling leaders of Hindu welfare organizations for fundamentalist votes, to put the opposition on the defensive.
The LDF will also seek to weaponize the multiple rape allegations against Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkootathil and alleged financial fraud in the Youth Congress fund collection for the rehabilitation of Wayanad. He will also seek to turn the tables on the UDF by highlighting the close links of Congress top brass with the accused in the Sabarimala gold theft case.
Results of local opinion polls
The UDF also kept its powder dry, ready to take the LDF straight to the House. Good results in local opinion polls supported the opposition’s move. The UDF is likely to focus its grassroots strategy on equalizing the CPI(M) and the BJP. She has repeatedly accused the CPI(M) of taking a page from the Hindutva playbook to unite the votes of the majority community with other minorities. The UDF portrayed the LDF’s criticism of the alleged “fundamentalist shift” in the IUML leadership and the CPI(M)’s constant attacks on Jamaat-e-Hind (SE-Kerala) as a social engineering strategy to divide the Hindu vote.
The UDF will focus on the Sabarimala gold theft and the arrest of CPI(M) political candidates in the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), which it believes resonated strongly with voters during the local polls. The UDF taunted the CPI(M) for allegedly providing political cover to the suspects.
The state’s financial situation, disruption of daily life caused by NH construction, human-wildlife conflict and the government’s alleged reluctance to disclose the JB Koshy Commission that looked into Christian backwardness will give the UDF the strength to put the LDF on the defensive.
Published – 19 Jan 2026 19:40 IST
