LDF steals a march on UDF by naming candidates within an hour of Kerala poll date announcement

The Left Democratic Front (LDF) sought to steal a march on the Congress-led United Democratic Front, with its two major alliance partners, the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the CPI (Marxist) announcing their candidates within an hour of the Election Commission of India (ECI) proclaiming the poll date of April 9 for the Kerala Assembly election on Sunday (March 15, 2026).

The back-to-back press conferences by CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan and CPI State secretary Binoy Viswam seemed a televised cue for scores of LDF workers organising roadshows with ruling front candidates in tow.

Assembly elections 2026 highlights

106 candidates named

Mr. Govindan announced candidates for 81 seats, including six CPI(M)-backed LDF candidates contesting as independents, including in the Palakkad seat. The other 75 candidates will contest the election on the party ticket, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, LDF convenor T.P. Ramakrishnan, and Cabinet Ministers in the State government. All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) leader, P K Shyamala, will contest from Thaliparambu in Kannur. 

Of the 81 candidates, 56 are incumbents, including former Devaswom Board Minister Kadakampally Surendran. Speaker A.N. Shamsheer, CPI(M) State Secretariat member M. Swaraj, and Mr. Govindan himself are not in the fray.

Mr. Viswam said the CPI would field 25 candidates, including one contesting as an independent. Four incumbent Ministers will contest, including K. Rajan, G.R. Anil, J. Chinchurani, and P. Prasad.

The CPI also decided to put up a strong fight against the Leader of the Opposition, V.D. Satheeshan, in his home turf in Paravoor by fielding the incumbent MLA for Kaipamangalam, E.T. Taison. Mr. Govindan said other LDF partners, including the Kerala Congress (M), would also announce their candidates soon. 

Congress-IUML meeting

Faced with the threat of being outpaced by the LDF in the poll campaign, the Congress-led UDF appeared to scramble to finalise seat-sharing in its own coalition on Sunday (March 15, 2026), with Mr. Satheesan and senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala holding a closed-door meeting with the Indian Union Muslim League leadership at Aluva Palace in Ernakulam. 

The meeting gained importance against the backdrop of reports that the IUML has demanded a higher number of seats, including a few in central Kerala, in a bid to expand the party’s political base and also demonstrate its heft in the UDF. Moreover, the IUML is reportedly weighing whether to swap seats with the Congress in the Thiruvambadi, Pattambi, Kongadu, and Kalamassery constituencies.

Congress insiders said former State Congress chief and Lok Sabha MP K. Sudhakaran‘s assertion that he would contest the Assembly election from Kannur has caused a hiccup in finalising party candidates before the AICC’s Central Election Committee (CEC) headed by Madhusoodhanan Mistry meets next week. The party has also faced difficulties in choosing Assembly hopefuls, as several leaders are jockeying for seats.