As the clock inexorably wound down to the first phase of the local body elections in seven southern districts of Kerala on Tuesday, the opposing alliances marshalled their soldiery to hit neighbourhoods and engage voters in doorstep conversations on election eve on Monday.
The last-minute, relatively subdued yet fervent bid to sway the electoral outcome on the day of “silent campaigning” unfolded across three Municipal Corporations, 39 municipalities, seven district panchayats, 75 block panchayats, and 471 grama panchayats spread over Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Idukki, Alappuzha, and Ernakulam districts.
The low-key campaigning and efforts to turn out the votes will continue into the polling day.
The court verdict in the actor-rape case and Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkootathil’s anticipatory bail hearing in the second rape case crowded out the usual election-eve muckraking and agenda-setting rhetoric from the airwaves.
Focus on voters
Nevertheless, on the ground, the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF), Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) Opposition, and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) campaigns appeared almost equally focused on ensuring that voters, including newly enfranchised youngsters, those from poor neighbourhoods, and marginalised sections of society, did not feel disaffected or believe that their votes did not matter in the larger scheme of things.
The LDF, for one, seemed to leverage its numbers by deploying scheme workers and members of the urban poverty mitigation scheme alongside party workers to persuade “on the fence and unconvinced” voters to support the ruling front, which faces anti-incumbency after nearly 9 years in government.
Cooperative bank corruption, depositors left in the lurch, women’s safety, upwardly spiralling vegetable prices, potholed roads, disruption and safety issues precipitated by the NH-66 construction in traffic and population-dense urban areas, human-wildlife conflict, and cratering crop prices fired up election eve conversations.
The spectre of tactical cross-voting, apprehensions about a minute shift in voting behaviour, and recalcitrant lesser allies niggled at the minds of campaign managers of the opposing alliances.
Thiruvananthapuram Corporation
The battle for the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation has emerged as the title fight of the 2025 local body polls.
The opposing fronts perceive the matchup as a stepping stone to the crucial Assembly polls in 2026.
The pivotal fight has narrowed down to a remarkably close three-cornered race between the LDF, UDF and NDA in scores of localities.
However, the LDF and UDF find some cold comfort in the corruption allegations involving BJP councillors and the party-controlled cooperative banks in the district.
For the UDF, with only about 10 seats in 2020, the electoral contest is almost existential. It fears that the BJP might supplant the Congress in several seats and supersede the UDF in the next council.
Kochi Corporation
The Kochi Corporation is another key battleground where no side can claim an upper hand. The LDF had seized governance through clever political jugglery despite not having a clear majority in 2020. Congress rebels aided the LDF. The UDF feels it has a fighting chance, but it fears the NDA might steal a section of anti-government votes.
In Kottayam, the NDA’s attempt to woo the Christian heartland of central Kerala poses a threat to both traditional fronts. The electoral battle in the district is a matchup between various Kerala Congress parties and their splinter groups, each owing allegiance to opposing alliances.
Caste and religious demographics may affect the outcome of the Thiruvalla Municipality elections in Pathanamthitta district, home to the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple. The UDF has the upper hand in the current council and is fighting to defend its fort against threats from the LDF and NDA.
The LDF’s confidence in Kollam rests on its past laurels. It has ruled the corporation for more than two decades and won nearly 42 per cent of the vote share in the 2020 local body polls, with the Congress coming close behind, garnering almost 31 per cent. The NDA, not to be left behind, is seeking to improve its vote share from 22 per cent in 2020.
Mainstream political parties in Tamil Nadu, chiefly the AIADMK and the DMK, have a decisive say in the local body polls in Idukki, given that Tamil voters dominate Peerumade, Udumbanchola and Devikulam Assembly constituencies. Issues in the plantation sector dominated the electoral debates.
In Alappuzha, the LDF and UDF fear a purported rightward shift in the traditional ruling front and opposition votes might advantage the NDA, given the BJP alliance’s strong showing in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Notably, the alliances are almost equally matched in the Mavelikkara municipality council.
Published – December 09, 2025 10:33 am IST
