India left with no Left-ruled state after Kerala verdict
The loss presents the Left with its biggest challenge since 1977 to retain relevance at the national level amid declining influence.
For the first time in nearly half a century, India will have no Left-ruled state after the CPI(M)-led coalition was voted out of power in the assembly elections yesterday (4 May).
The loss presents the Left with its biggest challenge since 1977 to retain relevance at the national level amid declining influence.
The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) rode a strong anti-incumbency wave against the Pinarayi Vijayan government, which had been in office since 2016, winning 102 seats in the 140-member assembly.
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The Left Democratic Front (LDF) was reduced to 35 seats, its worst performance in the state.
The CPI(M)'s troubles were compounded by the victory of three party rebels, underlining local resentment against the leadership over alleged nepotism and corruption.
The Left's decline had been evident from the UDF's gains in the 2024 parliamentary elections and the 2025 local body polls. In 2024, the UDF won 18 of Kerala's 20 Lok Sabha seats, while the LDF secured just one.
The UDF also emerged as the largest alliance by vote share in the 2025 local body polls, with 42.4% compared to the LDF's 35.2%.
The anti-incumbency sentiment was reflected in the defeat of 13 sitting ministers. The LDF also failed to retain 36 of the 59 seats it had won in the 2011, 2016 and 2021 assembly elections.
Meanwhile, the Left Front was earlier voted out of power in West Bengal in 2011 after a 34-year rule, and later in Tripura after governing the state for 20 consecutive years.
