Kerala witnessed a major political change on Monday as voters ended the Left Democratic Front's (LDF) 10-year rule and brought the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) back to power after a decade. The Bharatiya Janata Party also managed a small but notable breakthrough by winning three seats in the state.
The results came from the April 9 Assembly elections and clearly showed a strong shift against the ruling LDF government led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Along with the change in government, the outcome also reflected anti-incumbency and a wider change in voter mood across the state.
UDF returns to power after 10 years
The Congress-led UDF registered a clear win with 102 seats out of 140, according to the official data released by the Election Commission of India. The CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) managed 35 seats. With this result, the Left is now out of power in all Indian states for the first time in five decades.
The verdict also showed strong public dissatisfaction with the outgoing government. Thirteen ministers from the LDF cabinet lost their seats. While key allies of both fronts saw mixed results, the UDF’s partners like the IUML and Kerala Congress performed strongly, whereas the LDF alliance saw setbacks in several regions.
LDF suffers major setback
Only a few ministers from the outgoing cabinet managed to retain their seats. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, along with P A Mohamed Riyas, K Rajan, G R Anil, K N Balagopal, P Prasad and Saji Cherian, won. Many senior ministers faced defeat, including Veena George, M B Rajesh, O R Kelu, R Bindhu, J Chinchurani, P Rajeev, K B Ganesh Kumar, V N Vasavan, V Sivankutty, V Abdurahiman, Kadannappally Ramachandran, A K Saseendran and Roshy Augustine. LDF convenor T P Ramakrishnan also lost from Perambra.
CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan said the party would study the reasons behind the defeat and take corrective steps. He thanked workers and voters, saying the LDF would carefully analyse the outcome.
BJP opens account with three seats
The BJP made a small entry into Kerala's Assembly by winning three seats. The party secured Nemom and Kazhakoottam in Thiruvananthapuram district and Chathannoor in Kollam. In Chathannoor, B B Gopakumar won by 4,398 votes. In Nemom, state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar won by over 3,000 votes, while former Union Minister V Muraleedharan secured Kazhakoottam with a narrow margin.
Political leaders react to Kerala assembly election results 2026
Congress leader and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra thanked voters for their support, saying the trust placed in the UDF would guide their work ahead. In her X post, she wrote, "To all my brothers and sisters in Keralam, thank you for your faith and for your overwhelming support. The trust you have placed in us will be the UDF’s guiding force as we work hard towards building a better future for each one of you. I sincerely hope that our gratitude to you will be evident each day of the next five years as we strive to fulfill our commitments to you with honesty and humility."
AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal said the result was a clear rejection of "corruption" and "arrogance", as he put it, in the outgoing government. He said voters had shown their anger against the LDF rule. BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar said the he had maintained from the start that "this was an anti-CPI(M) election" adding that people were "fed up with their corruption and alleged misappropriation of gold from Sabarimala".
Also Read: Kerala Election Results 2026: UDF dominates Kerala with 102 seats, LDF secures 35 seats
