,
Chief minister of Kerala Left-wing/center-left politics The general socio-political thought and behavior of the Keralite population inclines strongly toward
left-wing and
center-left groups, as such,
communist (
Communist Party of India,
Communist Party of India (Marxist)) parties have made strong inroads across the state for decades. In fact, Kerala is the first autonomous polity in Asia and only second in the world to have democratically elected a fully communist-led (Communist Party of India) government into power, Since the 1980s, it has sustained itself as the front to take on the
Communist Party of India Marxist-led
Left Democratic Front. The alliance first came into power in Kerala in 1981 under
K. Karunakaran. It led the Kerala government in 1981 - 82 (
Karunakaran), 1982 - 87 (
Karunakaran), 1991 - 96 (
Karunakaran and
A. K. Antony), 2001 - 06 (
Antony and
Oommen Chandy) and 2011 - 16 (
Chandy). The party has strong bases in
Ernakulam and
Kottayam regions of central Kerala. The
Nationalist Congress Party- Sharadchandra Pawar and
Congress (S) are other parties which holds the Congress politics. Both of them were split from
Indian National Congress, and now form allies of
LDF. The
Kerala Congress factions also have their origin in a split which occurred in Indian National Congress in the year 1964.
DIC(K) was another party formed by raising Congress politics in Kerala, but was later dissolved. ==== Political underrepresentation of
Ezhava ==== Despite constituting around 24% of
Kerala’s population, the
Ezhava community has been described as under represented in both the
LDF and the
UDF. In the
LDF ministry, Ezhavas have held 5 ministerial positions, while the Nair community, which comprises about 12% of the state’s population, has held 7 ministerial posts. Within the
UDF, representation concerns have also been raised. There is no
OBC representation in the top leadership of the
Congress in
Kerala at present. Of the 14 District
Congress Committees (DCCs) in
Kerala, only 4 have presidents from the Ezhava community. Among the state’s 14
Congress MPs, only 2 belong to the community, while only 1 of the party’s 22 MLAs represents the Ezhavas. Additionally, none of the three newly appointed working presidents of the
KPCC are from the community.
Communitarian politics Indian Union Muslim League is a major member of the
United Democratic Front. Indian Union Muslim League first gained a ministry in Kerala Government as part of a
Communist Party of India Marxist-led alliance in the late 1960s. The party later switched fronts and formed an alliance with the
Congress. It later became a chief constituent in a succession of
Indian National Congress-lead ministries. The party has strong bases in
Malappuram District in central Kerala. The party is also strong in the northern belts of
Kasaragod district and the southern parts of
Kozhikode district in Northern Kerala.
Kerala Congress, which has several factions in
United Democratic Front and
Left Democratic Front, has strong influence in central Kerala. The various Kerala Congress factions are primarily patronized by
Syrian Christian community mostly in areas like
Kottayam,
Idukki,
Pathanamthitta and
Muvattupuzha.
Right-wing politics Right-wing politics in Kerala is represented by the
Bharatiya Janata Party. The BJP got their first seat in the Kerala legislative assembly in 2016. The BJP failed to win a seat in the 2021 elections. But won 1 seat in the 2024 elections. == Coalition politics ==