Candidates make a final pitch to voters as open campaigning for the first phase of the local body polls in Kerala ends

In the rush hours of the countdown to the climax of open campaigning for the first phase of local body elections in the seven southern districts of Kerala on Sunday, candidates from the competing fronts took ostentatious whirlwind tours and took live tours of the constituencies to make a final, impassioned and public address to voters.

Three Municipal Corporations, 39 municipalities, seven district panchayats, 75 block panchayats and 471 grama panchayats covering Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Idukki, Alappuzha and Ernakulam districts are in the vote in the first phase of voting on Tuesday.

The political stakes are quite high, especially given the perception by the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF), the United Democratic Front (UDF) Opposition and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) that civic polls offer a rough clue about Kerala’s voting behavior ahead of the Assembly elections in 2026.

The UDF, deprived of power in the Assembly for nearly two terms, sees the local body polls as an existential struggle. The NDA hopes to emerge as a disruptive third force trying to end the LDF-UDF duopoly in the state, albeit gradually.

The LDF sees the local body polls as an opportunity to dispel the UDF-NDA’s growing rhetoric of anger against the incumbent and also widen the ruling front’s perceived path to victory in the 2026 Assembly polls.

Loud and bright

The liveliness of the day was evident in the noisy roadshows and colorful corner meetings. Campaign vehicles were driving between election precincts, drowning out neighborhoods by evoking electioneering theme songs accompanied by deafening martial music. Crackers and traditional percussion instruments heralded the arrival of the candidates.

Political activists carrying flags and wearing party colors held motorcycle rallies as the high-decibel campaign reached its climax, culminating in spectacular finishes in town and village centers at 6pm.

Breaking political wrangling over gold theft at Sabarimala and accusations of protecting the accused; sexual assault cases revolving around the expulsion of absconding Palakkad MLA and Congress leader Rahul Mamkootathil; squabbles over courting social forces for temporary electoral gains; and insinuations of a secret alliance that would enable tactical cross-voting dominated the frenetic election rhetoric of the day.

High-octane political squabbles proceeded almost simultaneously with debates centered around core civic issues. The ward-level campaign focused on garbage disposal, extending sewer lines and piped drinking water to more neighbourhoods, repairing potholed roads, and addressing the apparent lack of basic amenities such as toilets and cloakrooms in public spaces.

Shortage of medicines and beds in government hospitals, alleged decline in public services, vendor inflation, affordability crisis and work-related disruptions and safety concerns of NH-66 have triggered the searches.

As the carnivalesque open campaign reaches its final gasp, leaders of the rival coalitions – Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan and State BJP President Rajeev Chandrasekhar – have issued a message of sheer optimism to the voters. It also signaled the start of a quiet campaign focused on doorstep interviews with voters and leaflet distribution.