Kerala local body polls to set the tone for 2026 battle

The State Election Commission on Friday issued the notification for Kerala's 2025 local body polls, which will be held in two phases on December 9 and 11, with counting on December 13. Months ahead of the assembly elections, the civic polls are expected to be a crucial test for the ruling LDF and for the Congress and BJP, both seeking to expand their footprint.

The Congress is looking to harness anti-incumbency against the Pinarayi Vijayan government and is treating the local body election as a semifinal before the assembly contest. The BJP, meanwhile, is positioning itself as a credible alternative to both the Left and the UDF. State BJP chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar has said that after the Bihar mandate, Kerala too is "ready to bless the NDA" in the civic polls and the assembly elections that follow six months later.

Currently, the CPI(M)-led LDF governs 673 local bodies, while the Congress-led UDF controls 468. The BJP-led NDA holds 25. The LDF also heads five of the state's six corporations.


Given the proximity to the assembly elections, the outcome of the civic polls will be read as a political mandate that shapes the narratives and strategies of all three major blocs.