Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 6 The upcoming Thiruvananthapuram Corporation elections are set to be a litmus test for all three major political fronts in Kerala -- the CPI(M)-led LDF, Congress-led UDF, and BJP-led NDA -- as the State Election Commission readies to announce the local body poll schedule.
Since 2015, the political landscape in the state capital has undergone a notable shift, with the BJP-led NDA edging out the Congress to emerge as the principal challenger to the ruling Left.
In the outgoing 100-member Corporation, the CPI(M) holds 52 seats, followed by the BJP with 35, the Congress-led UDF with 10, and three Independents.
However, this time the contest appears more open.
The UDF, buoyed by early momentum, has already announced 72 candidates for the expanded 101-member Corporation and drawn attention by fielding two-time former legislator K.S. Sabarinadhan. His candidature has reportedly energised the Congress base.
For the ruling Left, a string of controversies, including the Sabarimala gold plating probe and the confusion over signing and later withdrawing from the PM-SHRI scheme, has taken some sheen off its prospects.
The BJP, meanwhile, faces headwinds after liquidity issues surfaced in two cooperative banks linked to its leaders, and following the suicide of a sitting councillor, Anil Kumar.
Remarks by veteran leader M.S. Kumar have also exposed internal disquiet in the party, which had hoped to capture the Corporation for the first time.
A political observer noted that “if a hung Corporation emerges, a tactical understanding between the LDF and UDF cannot be ruled out”.
But such an arrangement, the analyst warned, “might hand the BJP a fresh campaign plank ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls”.
The State Election Commission is expected to announce the schedule soon for nearly 1,200 local bodies across Kerala.
Only Mattannur Municipality, which follows a separate cycle, will not go to the polls this time.
In the 2020 local body elections, the LDF secured 40.2 per cent of the vote, the UDF 37.9 per cent and the NDA 15 per cent.
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