Kerala Assembly Elections 2026: ‘Wake Up Keralam’ to mount cultural challenge to NDA

Wake Up Keralam, a collective of writers, artists, and social, political and environmental activists, has announced a focussed campaign to counter what it calls the “communal-fascist agenda” of the Sangh Parivar forces and prevent the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) from winning in the Assembly constituencies in Kerala.

The platform, part of the All India People’s Movement, comprising individuals and small democratic collectives from Kerala’s cultural, political and ecological spheres, said it would intervene actively in the coming Assembly election by organising campaigns in sensitive constituencies, strengthening anti-fascist public opinion and challenging divisive narratives.

Chairperson of the movement, poet and president of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi K. Satchidanandan, said Kerala’s renaissance legacy and culture of coexistence were under growing pressure from extreme right-wing politics seeking to gain ground through “multiple manipulative strategies.” He alleged that the Sangh Parivar forces, backed by power at the national level, were working aggressively to undermine the State’s democratic and reformist traditions.

“This is a moment for Kerala society to remain politically alert against attempts to sow the seeds of caste and religion in a land shaped by coexistence and shared humanity,” he said, adding that Wake Up Keralam would work to build social awareness and organise resistance to political fascism.

“Fascism is knocking at the door, and silence is no longer an option,” Mr. Satchidanandan said, warning that the BJP’s growth was the result of “a hundred years of planned work.” He said mainstream political parties had knowingly or unknowingly aided that rise. He said that many had failed to effectively resist the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and noted that even serious ‘vote theft’ issues raised by Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi had not sparked strong enough intervention. Expressing concern over the silence of today’s youth, he said it was alarming that a generation once known for fighting injustice was now hesitant to raise its voice even over problems in its own neighbourhood. “There has never been a time as frightening as this, when fascism is at the doorstep,” he said.

The movement’s central aim is to resist attempts by the Sangh Parivar to disturb Kerala’s social harmony and secular fabric through polarising campaigns and films such as The Kerala Story, said general convener of the movement Sarath Cheloor.

“We plan to use social media more effectively and credibly, including by launching fact-checking initiatives, to counter misinformation and false propaganda during the election season.”

Writer Khadija Mumtaz, programme coordinator, said the movement would track the SIR process in Kerala, conduct pilot studies and pursue legal interventions.

The collective will oppose the politics of hate and sectarianism while also criticising parties that appear to compromise with such agendas for narrow electoral gains. It plans to focus public attention on the dangers posed by cultural fascism to women, Dalits, Adivasis, backward communities, minorities and other ordinary citizens.

Wake Up Keralam office-bearers said the forum would also work among youth to expose the long-term impact of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s economic policies, promote constitutional values, and push anti-fascist political parties to ensure women’s and transpersons’ representation.

The collective plans continuous interventions across the State on these issues in the run-up to the election.