What happened in 2021 Kerala Assembly elections: Results, vote share, seat share, and key battles in 2026

The 2021 Kerala Assembly elections witnessed a historic victory for the Left Democratic Alliance, breaking the years-old tradition of rotating between the Left and the centrist parties in the State every five years. When the Left bastions in West Bengal and Tripura fell, Kerala’s 2021 Assembly elections showed a pro-incumbency trend, bringing the ruling LDF back to power again.

Let’s see what the trends from the 2021 Assembly elections indicate and what these mean for the upcoming 2026 Kerala Assembly elections.

Results

In the 2021 Kerala Legislative Assembly election, the incumbent Left Democratic Front (LDF), led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), secured a historic victory by winning 99 out of 140 seats.

The LDF also won more seats than it did in the 2016 Assembly polls and significantly improved upon its poor performance in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The LDF succeeded against other coalitions in both the general and SC-reserved seats, but its vote share in the ST-reserved seats was slightly lower than that of the UDF.

But the UDF achieved a victory over the LDF in vote share exclusively in urban areas. In other regions, the LDF either had a slight lead in semi-urban and rural areas or was significantly ahead in semi-rural zones.

Vote share

The LDF registered a vote share of 45.28% (94,07,662 votes), up from 43.35% in the 2016 Assembly polls. Moreover, the front garnered 10.73% more votes than it did in the Lok Sabha elections in 2019.

The UDF received 0.78% more votes in the 2021 elections that the previous one, but witnessed a decline of 7.87% compared to its performance in the Lok Sabha elections.

Meanwhile, the BJP-led NDA lost its only seat (Nemom) in the State Assembly, with its vote share decreasing to 12.47%.

Key battles in 2026

With the 2026 Assembly elections set to witness a close contest, several key regional battles are also developing across the State.

In Kottarakara, the defection of senior CPI(M) leader Aisha Potty to the Congress poses a challenge for the LDF’s K.N. Balagopal, the Finance Minister. The Nemom constituency is gearing up for a competitive fight between BJP State president Rajeev Chandrasekhar and incumbent MLA and Minister V. Sivankutty. Vattiyurkavu is expected to witness a tight fight, with LDF’s V.K. Prasanth up against K. Muraleedharan of the Congress and NDA’s R. Sreelekha. In Pala, Jose K. Mani of the Kerala Congress (Mani), an LDF ally, is looking to recover from a defeat.

Manjeshwaram too presents a tight triangular contest.

In Vadakara, the LDF is determined to reclaim the seat, focusing on the legacy of T.P. Chandrasekharan, with K.K. Rema leading the Opposition. Meanwhile, K.K. Shailaja’s relocation from Mattannur to Peravoor pits her against Congress leader and KPCC president Sunny Joseph, testing her public support.

Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan will likely face pressure in Paravur, while CPI(M) leader Kadakampally Surendran appears to have a tough contest on hand in Kazhakuttam constituency.

In Pathanapuram, K.B. Ganesh Kumar of the LDF contends with a revitalised UDF as voter sentiments shift.

Shobha Surendran of the BJP is also expected to bring energy to her campaign in Palakkad.

Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, as the UDF Campaign Committee chairman, looks to defend his home turf in Haripad.