Kerala Assembly polls 2026: PIB booklet on State’s electoral history released ahead of polls

Ahead of the Assembly polls in Kerala on April 9, some defining moments from the State’s rich electoral history have been compiled in ‘Vottarivu’, a summary of the Kerala elections published by the Thiruvananthapuram unit of the Press Information Bureau (PIB).

PIB Thiruvananthapuram Additional Director General (District) V. Palanichamy released the volume here on Monday, handing over a copy to Chief Electoral Officer (Kerala) Rathan U. Kelkar.

The 201-page election booklet in Malayalam showcases fascinating highlights and snippets, from the first legislatures in Travancore, Cochin and Malabar to Kerala’s first Communist Ministry under EMS Namboothiripad and the 2021 Assembly elections in which the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government returned for the second consecutive term.

The role played by the Travancore Legislative Council as a pioneering institution of its kind is well known. Well, how many people know that the first meeting of the Council, established in 1888, was held in the Council’s room in the Secretariat? Or the significance of the elections held in Cochin in September 1948 on adult suffrage? The book also includes a short but interesting chapter on the two Chief Ministers of Travancore, Pattom Thanu Pillai and Paravoor TK Narayana Pillai.

legal battle

‘Vottarivu’, among other things, reminds us of the legal battle that followed the 1991 Assembly elections in Edakkad constituency. CPI(M)’s O. Bharathan had won the tight contest by a narrow margin of 219 votes against Congress’s K. Sudhakaran. However, the result was challenged and the Supreme Court ordered a recount, which resulted in Mr Sudhakaran being declared the winner. Mr. Bharathan was eventually reinstated by the Supreme Court order, albeit towards the end of the Parliament’s term.

The 1957 elections after the formation of the State of Kerala were held on 126 seats (114 constituencies, of which 12 were two-member constituencies). Of these, CPI won 60. The number of voters stood at 89.13 lakh. The number of constituencies first increased to 140 (today’s number) during the 1977 State Assembly elections. The 1970 elections were special in that three future chief ministers of Kerala (AK Antony, Oommen Chandy and Pinarayi Vijayan) were elected to the Assembly for the first time.

Mr Palanichamy and Mr Kelkar said ‘Vottarivu’ was a useful compendium as it presented a broad collection of election data that could be valuable to researchers and journalists covering the election. PIB Thiruvananthapuram Deputy Director Athira Thampi also spoke.