The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)) is a communist political party in India. It is the largest communist party in India in terms of membership and electoral seats, and one of the national parties of India. The party was founded through a splitting from the Communist Party of India in 1964 and it quickly became the dominant faction.
Kannoth Karunakaran was an Indian politician who served as the chief minister of Kerala in 1977, from 1981 to March 1982, from May 1982 to 1987 and from 1991 to 1995. He is the founder of the Indian National Congress (INC)-led United Democratic Front (UDF) coalition, which governed the state in the periods of 1982-87, 1991-96, 2001-06 and 2011-16; and currently is the main opposition in Kerala since 2016. He has also served as the Union Minister of Industry from 1995 to 1996 and served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Legislative Assembly for four terms- 1967 to 1969, 1978 to 1979, 1980 to 1981 and 1987 to 1991. He also has the distinction of being one of the longest serving Congress Legislature Party (CLP) Leaders in the country, holding that post from 1967 to 1995.
The Left Democratic Front (LDF) is an alliance of left-wing political parties led by Communist Party of India (Marxist) in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the current ruling political alliance of Kerala, since 2016. It is one of the two major political alliances in Kerala, the other being Indian National Congress-led United Democratic Front, each of which has been in power alternately for the last four decades. LDF has won the elections to the State Legislature of Kerala in the years 1980, 1987, 1996, 2006, 2016 and had a historic re-election in 2021 where an incumbent government was re-elected for first time in 40 years. LDF has won 6 out of 10 elections since the formation of the alliance in 1980. The alliance consists of CPI(M), CPI and various smaller parties.
The United Democratic Front (UDF) is the Indian National Congress-led alliance of centre to centre-right political parties in the Indian state of Kerala. It is one of the two major political alliances in Kerala, the other being Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front, each of which has been in power alternately since 1980 E. K. Nayanar ministry. Most of the United Democratic Front constituents are members of the Indian National Congress-led Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance at pan-India level.
Kerala Congress (Jacob) is a regional political party in the Indian state of Kerala. It is a faction of Kerala Congress founded by the former minister the late T. M. Jacob who has held portfolios like Education, Irrigation, Culture and Civil Supplies in the Kerala Legislative Assembly.
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.
Kannoth Muraleedharan is an Indian National Congress politician. He was the MP from Vatakara, Kerala. He lost the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Thrissur constituency. He is the son of Congress leader K. Karunakaran. He was elected as an MP from Kozhikode constituency and from Vatakara constituency (2019). He was elected as an MLA from Vattiyoorkkavu constituency.
The 2004 Indian general election in Kerala were held for 20 Lok Sabha seats in the state. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) led Left Democratic Front (LDF) won 18 seats out of 20 seats in the state. Indian National Congress, who had won 8 seats in the 1999 elections, won one in this election. The other seats were won by Kerala Congress (1), P.C. Thomas's Indian Federal Democratic Party (1), Indian Union Muslim League (1), Janata Dal (Secular) (1), and by an LDF supported Independent candidate (1).
The 2014 Indian general election polls in Kerala were held for the twenty Lok Sabha seats in the state on 10 April 2014. The total voter strength of Kerala for the election was 2,42,51,937 and 73.89% of voters exercised their right to do so. The results of the elections were declared on 16 May 2014.
The 2016 Kerala Legislative Assembly election was held on 16 May 2016 to elect 140 MLAs to the 14th Kerala Legislative Assembly.
The 2019 Indian general election was held in Kerala on 23 April 2019 to constitute the 17th Lok Sabha.
Kerala's major political parties are aligned under two coalitions, namely the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF) since the late 1970s. Kerala was the first Indian state to have coalition government as early as 1961 .
The elections to the Eighth Kerala Assembly were held on March 23, 1987. The UDF and the LDF were the two major political fronts in the arena. The UDF had the INC(I), IUML, KC(J), KC(M), NDP (P), SRP(S) and the RSP(S) as its constituents. The LDF consisted of the CPI(M), CPI, RSP, IC(S), Janata Party and the Lok Dal.
Elections were held on 1980 January 3 and 5 to elect members to the sixth Niyamasabha. This election saw the formation of two pre-poll alliances, viz. LDF and UDF, most of whose constituent parties were part of the erstwhile United Front. CPI(M)-led LDF to win the election, after winning 93 seats altogether. E. K. Nayanar was sworn in as the Chief Minister on 26 March 1980
Six assembly by-elections were held on 23 September and 21 October 2019, to the six vacant seats in the Kerala Niyamasabha which consists of 140 constituencies in total.
The 2021 Kerala Legislative Assembly election was held in Kerala on 6 April 2021 to elect 140 members to the 15th Kerala Legislative Assembly. The results were declared on 2 May.
The 1999 Indian general election was held to elect 20 members to the thirteenth Lok Sabha from Kerala. Indian National Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) won 11 seats, while the Left Democratic Front (LDF), led by Communist Party of India (Marxist) won the remaining 9 seats. Both coalitions won the same number of seats as in the previous election, held in the previous year. Turnout for the election was measured at 70.19% of the eligible population.
Elections to local bodies in Kerala were held in two phrases, on 2 and 5 November 2015. The Left Democratic Front (LDF) won more than half of all gram panchayats and municipalities, and both they and the United Democratic Front (UDF) won majorities in seven out of fourteen district panchayats each. The LDF also won mayorship in four corporations and the UDF in two.
The 1984 Indian general election were held to elect 20 members to the eighth Lok Sabha from Kerala. Indian National Congress (INC)-led United Democratic Front (UDF) won 18 seats while Left Democratic Front (LDF), led by Communist Party of India (Marxist) won just 2 seats. Turnout for the election was at 77.12% In the Lok Sabha, INC won by a landslide and its leader Rajiv Gandhi went on to become the Prime Minister of India.
The Kerala Congress (KEC) has suffered severe divisions and several factions, and a number of parties have emerged over the years, all claiming the name Kerala Congress in various times in its history. Factions include KEC under P. J. Joseph, KEC(M) under Jose K. Mani, KEC(B) under K. B. Ganesh Kumar, and KEC(J) under Anoop Jacob.
