A look at politics in Kerala

Politics in Kerala is dominated by two coalition fronts - the Communist Party of India(Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Indian National Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) since late 1970s. Ever since 1982 the two coalitions have been shuffling places to serve the state with their services.

Most of the major political parties in Kerala, except for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), belong to one or the other of these two alliances and have in the past shifting allegiances a number of times. Due to magnetised perception of voters for the same intent, there has been no single party that has contested and also won even a single seat.

The BJP has not been able to register its presence in the assembly in spite of the fact that it is the third largest party in Kerala after Congress and CPM. According to 2011 Kerala Legislative Assembly election results, the UDF has a majority in the State Assembly (72/140).

The social thought and behavior of the State in general has a strong inclination towards Leftism and thus the Communist parties have strong inroads in Kerala. The Malabar region, particularly Kannur and Palakkad are considered to heartland of Communist parties.

With Modi wave in power it would be interesting to see how Indian National Congress, which has very strong presence in Kerala, will face Bharatiya Janata Party. Congress has strong bases in Thrissur, Ernakulam and Kottayam regions.