Kerala Assembly election 2026 LIVE updates: Polling to commence soon in 140 constituencies

The stakes are so high in the April 9 Kerala State Assembly polls that the public campaign knew no bounds and often devolved into ad hominem attacks that crossed the boundaries of decency.

The Congress and by extension the United Democratic Front (UDF) are in a position to either swim or sink, as evidenced by its captain VD Satheesan’s promise to give up politics if the alliance loses the elections. The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), the second largest party between the Congress and the UDF, cannot afford to stay out of power for another five years, a period when the Kerala Congress (Mani), which has been politically brutal for a decade, defected to the Left Democratic Front (LDF). It is believed that such an outcome could lead to loss of credibility of the Congress at the national level, internal collapse of its organizational structure and possible disintegration of the alliance.

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