Thiruvananthapuram: With the Kerala local body polls just days away, local political dynamics are shifting the boundaries of statewide alliances, leading to unusual tie-ups as well as fights, with allies taking on each other and rivals joining hands.
The local body elections are scheduled to be held in the state in two phases—9 and 11 December—with results to be declared on 13 December.
The state’s politics has been traditionally dominated by the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF), led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M); and the Congress-led United Democratic Front.
The CPI(M)-led LDF has the CPI, Kerala Congress (M), and the Janata Dal (Secular) in it. The Congress-led UDF has the Indian Union Muslim League, Kerala Congress (Joseph), Kerala Congress (Jacob), Revolutionary Socialist Party, and a variety of other smaller parties as constituents.
While these alliances are intact at the state level, at the grassroots, new tie-ups are being forged, and in some instances, partners are fighting against each other.
For instance, in the Malappuram district’s Ponmundam village panchayat, the Congress has set up a local-level partnership with Left parties, and its candidate is in a direct fight against its largest ally in the state, the IUML.
The IUML is returning the favour, fielding candidates in all 18 wards, including the 13 where the Congress is fighting and five where the Left parties are contesting.
“The Congress and the CPI (M) are contesting together as Janakeeya Munnani (loosely translated as people’s alliance). This panchayat (Ponmundam) never had a larger UDF coalition; it wasn’t there since the panchayat was formed,” said P. Hamza, an IUML councillor in Ponmundam.
Hamza said the only political parties that are active in the panchayat are IUML and the Congress. He said the Congress has decided to become an opposition party here in alliance with a weaker Left.
P.K. Hydros, a Congress functionary in Ponmundam, said his party joined hands with the Left as there is strong anti-incumbency in the IMUL-ruled panchayat.
“The IUML has been holding power here for 15 years. There is strong anti-incumbency sentiment. So, whoever is contesting, there is unanimous support for that.” Hydros said, adding that the state Congress leadership also knows about the arrangement.
He said that in 1995, the CPI (M) contested with the Congress to snatch power in the panchayat, while the Left joined hands with IUML in 2000.
Hydros said the UDF coalition is not contesting in another local body in the district, Peruvathany village panchayat, as the Congress backed out of contesting after the seat-sharing talks fell through.
“This doesn’t mean there is enmity. Local body elections are about local emotions. Sometimes, allies contest against each other. Or they rebel against their own party,” Hydros said, adding that sometimes the state leadership may not know about it.
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Allies up against each other
While Malappuram politics is dominated by the IUML, and its ally in the state Congress is fighting against it, in other parts of the state as well, a failure in seat-sharing talks has led to allies fighting against each other.
For instance, in Alappuzha’s Kuttanad, the CPI is contesting against the CPI(M) in multiple local bodies. The CPI is contesting 11 wards alone across three local bodies in the region. In the Ramankary village panchayat, the party is contesting alone in six of the 14 wards.
“In Ramankary, there are 14 seats (wards). We sought four, as we are powerful here. But they said they would give one if we need,” said Rajendra Kumar, a CPI leader in the Kuttanad region.
He added that the CPI(M) and the Congress had joined hands earlier as well in the region for local politics.
Kumar, a former CPI(M) member and president of the Ramankary Panchayat, defected to the CPI after the Congress moved a no-confidence motion against him with the help of CPI(M) in May 2024. The presidential post then went to the Congress.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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