The Kerala local body elections are being viewed as a litmus test for next year's assembly polls. It’s a direct contest between the Left-led LDF and Congress-led UDF, while the BJP attempts to stir a triangular competition. All eyes are on Congress MP Shashi Tharoor's constituency, Thiruvananthapuram, where all three coalitions are exerting full force.
The state’s local body elections occur in two phases, with the first round of voting on Tuesday and the second on December 11. Campaigning noise has ceased ahead of the first phase, leaving Monday as the calm before Tuesday's electoral storm.
Of Kerala’s total 1,200 local bodies, 1,199 are going to polls, missing out Mattannur municipality due to its term extending until 2027. Elections will be held across 23,576 wards within Kerala’s 12 local bodies over two phases. The initial phase features districts like Kollam, Thiruvananthapuram, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Idukki, Kottayam, and Ernakulam.
The first phase consists of elections in three municipal corporations, 39 municipalities, seven district panchayats, 75 block panchayats, and 471 gram panchayat regions. Hence, 595 local bodies, housing 11,168 wards, are open for election, with over 36,000 candidates vying. Attention remains pinned on Thiruvananthapuram’s municipal seat.
Among Kerala's three municipal corporations set for elections Tuesday — Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, and Kochi — Left-led LDF heads all. Thiruvananthapuram draws the greatest interest, the constituency of Congress leader Shashi Tharoor. Here, BJP, Congress, and Left maintain political footholds.
The mayoral race in Thiruvananthapuram symbolizes a triangular contest, with former Congress MLA KS Sabarinathan and former BJP DGP R Sreelekha contesting for the mayoral seat. Voters watch closely to see if Shashi Tharoor can secure a Congress victory in his stronghold.
Key issues like gold theft at Sabarimala temple, serious sexual assault allegations against ousted Congress MLA Rahul Mamakuttil, inflation, and slow National Highway expansion work are discussed. Allegations of secret alliances and cross-voting strategies to win communal support intensify.
Local matters dominated discourse — ward-level campaigns focused on waste management, extending sewer lines and piped drinking water, repairing pothole-ridden roads, and vital amenities like public restrooms and cloakrooms.
State hospitals’ shortage of medicines and beds, perceived public service decline, inflationary pressures, affordability crises, and NH-66 work-related disruptions and safety concerns further fuel election fervor.
The vibrant campaign spectacle, reminiscent of a carnival, nears its end. Leaders from competing coalitions — Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Opposition Leader V.D. Satheesan, and BJP State President Rajeev Chandrasekhar — play their strategic hands. The 2026 political groundwork is believed to be in motion through these local body elections.
