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Politics of Kerala

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Political System of Kerala
Coat of arms of Kerala
Polity typeDemocratic
ConstitutionConstitution of India
Formation1950
Legislative branch
NameKerala Legislative Assembly
TypeUnicameral
Meeting placeAssembly Building
Presiding officerA. N. Shamseer, Speaker
Executive branch
Head of state
TitleGovernor
CurrentlyArif Mohammad Khan
Head of government
TitleChief Minister
CurrentlyPinarayi Vijayan
AppointerGovernor
Cabinet
NameCabinet of Kerala
Current cabinetCabinet Vijayan
LeaderChief Minister
AppointerGovernor
Judicial branch
NameJudiciary of India
Kerala High Court
Chief judgeS. Manikumar
SeatKochi

Kerala is an Indian state, where federal legislative power is vested in the unicameral Kerala Legislative Assembly. The multilateral system has, since 1956, been dominated by the several pre-poll and post-poll alliances.

The judiciary of Kerala is independent of the executive and the legislature, while it is common for leading members of the executive (Kerala Council of Ministers) to be members of the legislature as well. The political system is laid out in the Constitution of India (1950).

Legislative Assembly has a membership of 141, where 140 are elected and one is nominated from the Anglo-Indian community. Kerala has 20 seats in the Lok Sabha (Indian Lower House) and nine seats in the Rajya Sabha (the Council of States). Elections are also held to choose representatives to the civic bodies at various levels within Kerala.

Political parties

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Main article: Political parties in Kerala

Alliances

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Sl No Alliance Name Flag Current Status
1 Left Democratic Front (LDF) Government
2 United Democratic Front (UDF) Opposition
3 National Democratic Alliance ( NDA ) None

National parties

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Sl No Party Name Symbol Alliance Current Status
1 Communist Party of India (Marxist) LDF Government
2 Indian National Congress UDF Opposition
3 Bharatiya Janata Party NDA None

Recognised State Parties

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Sr No Party Name Symbol Alliance
1 Communist Party of India (PWA) Left Democratic Front
2 Kerala Congress (M)
3 Janata Dal (Secular)
4 Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar)
5 Indian Union Muslim League United Democratic Front
6 Revolutionary Socialist Party

Electoral history

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Main article: Elections in Kerala
1st cabinet ministry of Kerala led by E. M. S. Namboodiripad (1957)
Kerala Council of Ministers under P. K. Vasudevan Nair (1978)

Results for the Kerala Legislative Assembly (from 1957) have been:

(Source)

Mandate Seats secured Ruling Coalition(s)
CPI+ INC+
1957 65[1] 43[2] CPI+
1960 29[2] 95[2] INC+
Mandate Seats secured Ruling Coalition(s)
CPI(M) INC+
1965 40 36 No Government Formed
1967 117 9 CPI(M)+
Mandate Seats secured Ruling Coalition(s)
CPI(M)+ CPI INC
1970 29[3] 16 30 CPI+INC
1977 29[3] 23[3] 38 CPI+INC
Mandate Seats secured Ruling Coalition Majority
LDF UDF Others
1980 93 46 1 LDF 47
1982 63 77 0 UDF 14
1987 78 61 1 LDF 17
1991 48 90 2 UDF 40
1996 80 59 1 LDF 21
2001 40 99 1 UDF 59
2006 98 42 0 LDF 56
2011 68 72 0 UDF 04
2016 91 47 2 LDF 44
2021 99 41 0 LDF 58

Current administrative structure by alliance

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Current administrative structure by alliance in Kerala
National Constituencies Total LDF UDF Others
Lok Sabha constituencies 20 1 18 1
State Constituencies Total LDF UDF Others
Legislative assembly constituencies 140 98 41 0
Local self-government body Total LDF UDF Others
Municipal Corporations 6 4 2 0
District Panchayats 14 11 3 0
Municipalities 87 43 41 2
Block Panchayats 152 90 61 0
Grama Panchayats 941 549 365 27
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E. M. S. Namboodiripad, CPI (first Chief Minister of Kerala, 1957- 59)
1957 Assembly elections 2021 Assembly elections
Parties Popular vote % Parties Popular vote %
Indian National Congress (INC) 37.84 Communist Party of India Marxist (CPIM) 25.4
Communist Party of India (CPI) 35.28 Indian National Congress (INC) 25.1
Praja Socialist Party (PSP) 10.76 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) 15.50
Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) 3.22 Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) 8.3
Communist Party of India (CPI) 7.6
Kerala Congress (Mani) (KCM) 3.3
Kerala Congress (KEC) 2.7

Ideologies

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Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief minister of Kerala

Left-wing/center-left politics

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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.[4] 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,[4] with the first-ever being San Marino, a microstate enclaved by Italy.

Northern Kerala, particularly the districts of Kannur and Palakkad, is generally considered the heartland of communist support. The districts of Kollam and Alappuzha also generally inclined towards left-wing or center-left parties, even though the United Democratic Front have won elections from the constituencies of these districts several times.[4]

Some parties like Communist Marxist Party, Janathipathiya Samrakshana Samithy and the Revolutionary Marxist Party of India also represent left-wing politics in the state.

Congress politics

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Indian National Congress leads the United Democratic Front pre-poll alliance in Kerala. The alliance was created by the Congress (then known as Congress-Indira) party leader K. Karunakaran in 1978.[5] 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.

Communitarian politics

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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 Central Travancore areas like Kottayam, Idukki, Pathanamthitta and Muvattupuzha.

Right-wing politics

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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.

Coalition politics

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First Council of Ministers, EMS Namboothiripad Ministry
Second Council of Ministers
A. K. Antony, K. Karunakaran, K. M. Mani and C. H. Muhammed Koya

The current politics in Kerala is largely dominated by two pre-poll alliances

The two alliances have been alternatively voted to power in Kerala since 1980 till 2021 (from the First E. K. Nayanar ministry and until First Pinarayi Vijayan ministry).

The pre-poll political alliances of Kerala have stabilized strongly in such a manner that, with rare exceptions, most of the coalition partners stick their loyalty to the respective alliances (Left Democratic Front or United Democratic Front). As a result of this, ever since 1979, the power has been clearly alternating between the two alliances without any exceptions, until this spell was broken in the 2021 Kerala Legislative Assembly election.[6]

However, till then the political scenario in Kerala (1957 - 1980) was characterized by continually shifting alliances, party mergers and splits, factionalism within the coalitions and within political parties, and the formation of a numerous splinter groups.[7] In the late 1970s and early 1980s, two main pre-poll political alliances were formed: the Left Democratic Front, led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Communist Party of India and the United Democratic Front, led by the Indian National Congress.[7]

Since the early 1980s these two pre-poll political alliances have alternated in government with neither able to gain re-election for a second term. Clashes between supporters of the two coalitions have occurred periodically. Both have accused the other of corruption, promoting or condoning political violence, and "the general breakdown of law and order" during their periods in government.[7]

Mandate Ministry

No.

Ruling Coalition

Name

2021 23 LDF
2016 22 LDF
2011 21 UDF
2006 20 LDF
2001 19 UDF
18
1996 17 LDF
1991 16 UDF
15
1987 14 LDF
1982 13 UDF
1980 12
11 LDF
1977 10 —
9
8
7
1970 6
1967 5
4
1965 No ministry formed
1960 3 —
2
1957 1

Student politics

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2021 Assembly elections

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LDF Seats UDF Seats
CPI(M) 62 INC 21
CPI 17 IUML 15
LDF Independent 5 KEC 2
KC(M) 5 KC(J) 1
JD(S) 2 RMPI 1
NCP 2 UDF Independent 1
C(S) 1 RSP 0
KC(B) 1 CMP 0
NSC 1
INL 1
JKC 1
LJD 1
INL 0
LDF 99 UDF 41
Parties Popular vote Seats
Votes % Candidates Won
Communist Party of India Marxist (CPIM) 5,288,502 25.4 77 62
Indian National Congress (INC) 5,233,429 25.1 93 21
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) 2,354,468 11.3 113 0
Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) 1,723,593 8.3 25 15
Communist Party of India (CPI) 1,579,235 7.6 23 17
Kerala Congress (Mani) (KCM) 684,363 3.3 12 5
Kerala Congress (KEC) 554,115 2.7 10 2

See also

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References

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  1. ^ STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 1957 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF KERALA. New Delhi: Election Commission of India. p. 7.
  2. ^ a b c DC Books, Kottayam, Kerala Charithram, A. Shreedhara Menon, P.367-369
  3. ^ a b c "History of Kerala Legislature". Archived from the original on 14 August 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  4. ^ a b c Snapshots - India's final voting day BBC News
  5. ^ Who was K Karunakaran? – NDTV
  6. ^ "Rewriting history: Pinarayi Vijayan breaks 4-decade-old political trend in Kerala". The News Minute. 2 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  7. ^ a b c "India". Australia: Refugee Review Tribunal. 19 March 2007. Archived from the original on 16 April 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2019 – via archive.is.

Further reading

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