The Indian National Congress returned to power in Kerala, leading its alliance to unseat the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led government.

It won 63 of the 140 seats on its own, short of a majority by itself.

The CPM fell to 26 seats on 21.8% of the vote.

Together with its allies, INC's UDF alliance took 98 of the 140 seats, a landslide majority.

INC's own vote share was 28.8%, against CPM's 21.8%.

UDF leader Satheesan launched the 'Puthuyuga Yathra' on 6 February 2026, travelling from Kumbla to Thiruvananthapuram. The march closed on 7 March 2026, with its closing event inaugurated by Rahul Gandhi.¹

The LDF released its campaign slogan 'Mattarund LDF Allathe?' (Who else but LDF?) on 10 March 2026, ahead of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's formal campaign launch a week later. The next day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the BJP's official campaign for the election from Kochi, ahead of the party's national manifesto release later that month.²³

On 15 March 2026 the Election Commission announced the poll schedule, and the UDF released its own slogan 'Keralam Jayikkum, UDF Nayikkum' (Kerala will win, and UDF will lead). The same day, the CPI(M) released its first list of 81 candidates, fielding sitting Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan again from Dharmadam.⁴⁵⁶

Pinarayi Vijayan formally kick-started his own campaign on 17 March 2026 from his home constituency of Dharmadam, opening the LDF's bid for a third consecutive term.⁷

The NDA released its manifesto for the state on 31 March 2026. The UDF released its own manifesto on 2 April 2026, the same day the LDF released its 'Nava Kerala' manifesto.⁸⁹

The CPM's winning streak in Kerala came to an end in collapse.

It had won 4 elections in a row before this one.

The single biggest movement ran from CPM to INC, covering 24 of the 66 seats that changed hands.

INC itself grew from 21 seats to 63 seats this time — its best assembly result in the state to date.

Turnout, the share of registered voters who actually cast a ballot, rose +5.4 pp from the previous election.

The closest race was at Manalur, Keralam, decided by a margin — how far ahead the winner finished, in votes, over whoever came second — of 126 votes.

Malappuram, Keralam saw the widest margin of the election, with the winner finishing 43.3% ahead of the runner-up.

Kunnamangalam, Keralam recorded the highest turnout of any seat, 86.3%.

Koduvally, Keralam drew the most candidates of any seat, 13 names on the ballot.

Tirur, Keralam was the largest constituency by registered voters, with 2,55,486 on its rolls.

NOTA — None of the Above, a ballot option letting voters formally reject every candidate on offer — drew 1,23,067 votes statewide, 0.6% of the total.

Kerala was formed on 1 November 1956 under the States Reorganisation Act, merging the former Travancore-Cochin state with the Malabar district and Kasaragod taluk from Madras State to unite Malayalam-speaking areas into one state.¹⁰

Its first Legislative Assembly election followed in February-March 1957, and Namboodiripad was sworn in as Chief Minister on 5 April 1957 with independents' support — one of the first democratically elected communist governments in the world, after San Marino.¹¹

Kerala's fragmented coalitions consolidated into two rival alliances in the late 1970s, the Congress-led United Democratic Front and the Left Democratic Front, and the LDF first contested as a bloc in 1980, winning power under Nayanar.¹²