Ernakulam

Kerala Leader of Opposition and senior Congress leader V D Satheesan on Monday filed his nomination papers from the Paravur constituency for the upcoming state Assembly elections, aiming for a sixth consecutive win.

The Indian National Congress recently released its second list of 37 candidates. As per the announcement, T O Mohanan will contest from Kannur, Senapathy Venu from Udumbanchola, and Santhakumar from Adoor (SC). Sandeep Varier has been fielded from Trikaripur, M Liju from Kayamkulam, and Abin Varkey from Aranmula.

In its first list, the party had already declared 55 candidates, including Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Sunny Joseph from Peravoor and Satheesan from Paravur. Senior leader K Muraleedharan is contesting from Vattiyoorkavu.

The Kerala Legislative Assembly elections 2026 will be held in a single phase on April 9, with counting scheduled for May 4, as announced by the Election Commission of India. The current Assembly’s tenure ends on May 23, and the Model Code of Conduct is already in force for the 140-member House, also known as the Kerala Niyamasabha.

The elections are expected to witness a triangular contest, with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance and the Congress-led United Democratic Front attempting to unseat the ruling CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front, which has been in power for nearly a decade.

In the 2021 Assembly elections, the LDF retained power with 99 seats, marking the first time since 1977 that an incumbent alliance secured consecutive terms in Kerala. The UDF won 41 seats, while the NDA failed to win any seat despite securing a notable vote share. Following the victory, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan became the first in the state to be re-elected after completing a full five-year term.

In terms of vote share in 2021, the LDF secured 41.5 per cent, ahead of the UDF’s 38.4 per cent, while the NDA garnered 11.4 per cent but did not translate it into seats.

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Among individual parties, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) emerged as the largest with 62 seats, followed by the Congress with 21 seats. The Communist Party of India won 17 seats, while the Indian Union Muslim League, a key UDF ally, secured 15 seats.