Politics of Kerala
Encyclopedia
Politics
in Kerala
takes place in a multi-party democratic framework, within the overall context of the national Politics of India
. Kerala has a unique position in India, as one of the most politicalized state. The state holds an unbroken position of having largest politically aware population, who participate in state's politics actively.
Politics in Kerala is dominated by two political fronts: the Communist party
-led Left Democratic Front
(LDF) and the Indian National Congress
-led United Democratic Front
(UDF) since late 1970s. These two parties have alternating in power since 1982. According to 2011 Kerala Legislative Assembly election results
, the UDF has a majority in the state assembly
(72/140).
The political alliance have strongly stabilized in such a manner that, with rare exceptions, most of the coalition partners stick their loyalty to the alliance. As a result to this, ever since 1979, the power has been clearly alternating between these two fronts without any change.
In terms of individual parties, the state has a strong leanings towards socialism
and thus Communist parties
have strong inroads in Kerala. The Malabar region, particularly Kannur
and Palakkad
are considered to heartland of Communist parties. The Kollam
and Alapuzha districts, where trade unions have made strong presence, are generally inclined to Left parties, though several times UDF have won. The largest Communist party is CPIM
and second largest is CPI
Indian National Congress
have a very strong presence in Kerala, even during Pre-Independence days. Congress party has strong popularity in Thrissur
, Ernakulam
and Thiruvananthapuram
regions. Congress leads the UDF coalition.
Other popular regional parties are
, led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist)
and the secularist United Democratic Front
, led by the Indian National Congress
party. These two coalitions have alternated in government in opposition, with neither Front able to gain re-election for a second term.
have been:
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
in Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
takes place in a multi-party democratic framework, within the overall context of the national Politics of India
Politics of India
The politics of India takes place within the framework of a federal constitutional republic, in which the President of India is head of state and the Prime Minister of India is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the President and is independent of the legislature...
. Kerala has a unique position in India, as one of the most politicalized state. The state holds an unbroken position of having largest politically aware population, who participate in state's politics actively.
Politics in Kerala is dominated by two political fronts: the Communist party
Communist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...
-led Left Democratic Front
Left Democratic Front
Left Democratic Front is a coalition of left winged political parties in the state of Kerala, in India. This is one of the two major political coalitions in Kerala, each of which have been in power alternatively for the last two decades. LDF is the coalition that is presently in oppposition...
(LDF) and the Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
-led United Democratic Front
United Democratic Front (India)
United Democratic Front is an alliance of political parties of Kerala state in India. This alliance is led by the Indian National Congress....
(UDF) since late 1970s. These two parties have alternating in power since 1982. According to 2011 Kerala Legislative Assembly election results
Kerala State legislative assembly election, 2011
The thirteenth legislative assembly election was held on 13 April 2011 to elect members of the 140 constituencies in Kerala. Election results were released on 13 May 2011. The results proved to be one of the closest elections in Kerala's history, with the UDF beating the LDF by a margin of 4...
, the UDF has a majority in the state assembly
Kerala Legislative Assembly
The Kerala Legislative Assembly more popularly known as Niyamasabha , is the law making body of Kerala, one of the 28 States in India. The Assembly is formed by 140 elected representatives and one nominated member from the Anglo-Indian community...
(72/140).
The political alliance have strongly stabilized in such a manner that, with rare exceptions, most of the coalition partners stick their loyalty to the alliance. As a result to this, ever since 1979, the power has been clearly alternating between these two fronts without any change.
In terms of individual parties, the state has a strong leanings towards socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
and thus Communist parties
Communist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...
have strong inroads in Kerala. The Malabar region, particularly Kannur
Kannur
Kannur , also known as Cannanore, is a city in Kannur district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the District of Kannur and 518km north of state capital Trivandrum. During British rule in India, Kannur was known by its old name Cannanore, which is still in...
and Palakkad
Palakkad
Palakkad , formerly known as Palghat, is a municipality and a town in the state of Kerala in southern India, spread over an area of 26.60 km2.The city is situated about north of state capital Thiruvananthapuram. It is the administrative headquarters of Palakkad District...
are considered to heartland of Communist parties. The Kollam
Kollam
Kollam , often anglicized as ', is a city in the Indian state of Kerala. The city lies on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake on the Arabian sea coast and is situated about north of the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram...
and Alapuzha districts, where trade unions have made strong presence, are generally inclined to Left parties, though several times UDF have won. The largest Communist party is CPIM
Communist Party of India (Marxist)
The Communist Party of India is a political party in India. It has a strong presence in the states of Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura. As of 2011, CPI is leading the state government in Tripura. It leads the Left Front coalition of leftist parties in various states and the national parliament of...
and second largest is CPI
Communist Party of India
The Communist Party of India is a national political party in India. In the Indian communist movement, there are different views on exactly when the Indian communist party was founded. The date maintained as the foundation day by CPI is 26 December 1925...
Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
have a very strong presence in Kerala, even during Pre-Independence days. Congress party has strong popularity in Thrissur
Thrissur
This article is about the city in India. For the district, see Thrissur district. For the urban agglomeration area of Thrissur see Thrissur Metropolitan Area...
, Ernakulam
Ernakulam
Ernakulam refers to the downtown area or the western part of the mainland of Kochi city in Kerala, India. The city is the most urban part of Kochi and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Ernakulam is called the commercial capital of the state of Kerala and is a main nerve of business in...
and Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram , formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland...
regions. Congress leads the UDF coalition.
Other popular regional parties are
- Kerala CongressKerala CongressThe Kerala Congress is a recognized State political party in Kerala, India. The party was founded by K. M. George in October 1964 after a group of legislators decided to break from the Indian National Congress...
, which has more than 4 denominations, after breaking away from original party, has strong influence among settlement populations in Hilly regions. The various Kerala Congress denominations are primarily patronized by Orthodox Christian community and NairNairNair , also known as Nayar , refers to "not a unitary group but a named category of castes", which historically embody several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom bore the Nair title. These people historically live in the present-day Indian state of Kerala...
populations mostly in Central Travancore areas like KottayamKottayamKottayam is a city in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 55.40 km2. It is the administrative capital of the Kottayam district. Kottayam Kottayam (Malayalam: കോട്ടയം) is a city in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 55.40 km2. It is the administrative...
, Iddukki and PathanamthittaPathanamthittaPathanamthitta is a large town and a municipality situated in the central Travancore region in the state of Kerala, south India, spread over an area of 23.50 km2. It is the administrative capital of Pathanamthitta district. The city has a population of 38,000...
areas. Today, most of Kerala Congress parties are with UDF.
- Indian Union Muslim LeagueIndian Union Muslim LeagueIndian Union Muslim League is a state political party in the state of Kerala, India. The chief support base of the party falls inside northern and central Kerala...
, is a powerful pro-Muslim community oriented party, which was started as Muslim League prior to Independence, yet decided to remain their allegiance to Indian Union after Independence, when the original Muslim League went to Pakistan. The IUML-Kerala unit is the only Muslim League unit, which declared its allegiance and loyalty to India, hence became a state party, in post-independent India. The party has strongholds mostly in Muslim dominated districts like KozhikodeKozhikodeKozhikode During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikkode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District...
, MalappuramMalappuramMalappuram is a municipality in the South Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 33.61 km2. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Malappuram district. As per the 2011 census Malappuram urban agglomeration is the fourth largest UA in kerala with a total population of...
and Kasargod. They form the second largest party within UDF
- Socialist groups, consisting of several small fragmented parties like NCPNationalist Congress PartyThe Nationalist Congress Party is a centre to centre left political party primarily based in the state of Maharashtra, India.-Background:...
, SJD-SSocialist Janata (Democratic) PartySocialist Janata Party is broke away from Janata Dal . This party is part of United Democratic Front in Kerala .-History:The Kerala unit of the Janata Dal is a part of the CPI -led Left Democratic Front. The CPI-JD ties came under strain around 2008...
, JDSJanata Dal (Secular)The Janata Dal is a Centre-left ಕನ್ನಡ: ಜನತಾ ದಳIndian political party led by former Prime Minister of India H.D. Deve Gowda.The party recognized as state party in the states of Karnataka and Kerala . It was formed in July 1999 by the split of Janata Dal party. It has political presence mainly in...
, Congress-S, are mainly pro-center left socialist parties having very limited influences in few pocket areas. Most of the socialist groups are with LDF, though at few instances, some of them changed their loyalties to UDF.
- Communist parties, consists of various communist parties, which have broken away from CPIMCommunist Party of India (Marxist)The Communist Party of India is a political party in India. It has a strong presence in the states of Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura. As of 2011, CPI is leading the state government in Tripura. It leads the Left Front coalition of leftist parties in various states and the national parliament of...
which mostly are Center left parties and few are extreme left. While a few centre left parties like RSPRevolutionary Socialist Party (India)Revolutionary Socialist Party is a Marxist-Leninist political party in India. The party was founded on March 19, 1940 and has its roots in the Bengali liberation movement Anushilan Samiti and the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army. The party got around 0,4% of the votes and three seats in the Lok...
have joined with LDF, those broken away from CPIM, like CMPCommunist Marxist PartyCommunist Marxist Party is a political party in Kerala, south India. The party was founded in 1986 when Communist Party of India leader M. V. Raghavan was expelled from the CPI due to a grave difference of opinion regarding the formation of alliances with the Muslim League...
, JSSJanathipathiya Samrakshana SamithyJanathipathiya Samrakshana Samithy is a political party in the Indian state of Kerala. The party was formed in 1994 when the CPI leader K.R. Gowri Amma was expelled from Communist Party of India . She is the widow of the Communist Party of India leader T.V...
etc, lead by erstwhile CPIM veterans who were expelled from CPIM have joined with UDF.
Political Parties
The two main political coalitions in Kerala are the leftist Left Democratic FrontLeft Democratic Front
Left Democratic Front is a coalition of left winged political parties in the state of Kerala, in India. This is one of the two major political coalitions in Kerala, each of which have been in power alternatively for the last two decades. LDF is the coalition that is presently in oppposition...
, led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist)
Communist Party of India (Marxist)
The Communist Party of India is a political party in India. It has a strong presence in the states of Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura. As of 2011, CPI is leading the state government in Tripura. It leads the Left Front coalition of leftist parties in various states and the national parliament of...
and the secularist United Democratic Front
United Democratic Front (India)
United Democratic Front is an alliance of political parties of Kerala state in India. This alliance is led by the Indian National Congress....
, led by the Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
party. These two coalitions have alternated in government in opposition, with neither Front able to gain re-election for a second term.
Election results
Results for the Kerala Legislative AssemblyKerala Legislative Assembly
The Kerala Legislative Assembly more popularly known as Niyamasabha , is the law making body of Kerala, one of the 28 States in India. The Assembly is formed by 140 elected representatives and one nominated member from the Anglo-Indian community...
have been:
| Year | UDF | LDF | Others | Government (majority) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | 77 | 63 | - | UDF (14) |
| 1987 | 61 | 78 | 1 | LDF (16) |
| 1991 | 90 | 48 | 2 | UDF (40) |
| 1996 | 65 | 70 | 5 | LDF (0) |
| 2001 | 99 | 40 | 1 | UDF (58) |
| 2006 | 40 | 99 | 1 | LDF (58) |
| 2011 | 72 | 68 | - | UDF (38) |
| (Source) |