On May 16, Keralites will flock to polling booths across the state. The election – in a state which for four decades has refused to re-elect any incumbent government -- will set Kerala’s course for the next five years, amidst the turbulence of economic volatility and stark social challenges.
This is an important moment with enduring consequences. As usual, the contest is between a Communist Party (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front, or LDF, and the ruling United Democratic Front, or UDF, led by the Indian National Congress. The BJP, which has cobbled together an NDA of sorts, including a new and as-yet untested party created by the leader of the Ezhava-dominated SNDP movement, aspires to be a significant third player but offers a serious challenge in only a handful of constituencies. At best it can hope for a solitary seat or two in the Assembly, which it will trumpet as a breakthrough triumph. But even that is not guaranteed.
Kerala’s tradition of anti-incumbency has arguably been the result of poor performance in office by a series of governments hobbled by the state’s all-pervasive and dysfunctional politics. This time, however, the outgoing UDF government led by Oommen Chandy is campaigning on a remarkable record of achievement. No single five-year government in Kerala’s history has achieved so much in a single term.