Kerala In Election Mode As Local Body Polls Kick Off In December 2025

 The Kerala State Election Commission has announced the schedule for the local body elections, setting the state firmly on the election path. The polls will be held in two phases starting in December.

Elections in seven southern districts will be held on December 9, while polling in seven central and northern districts will take place on December 11. The counting of votes is scheduled for December 13, this year.

The State Election Commissioner said polls will be held for 1199 local bodies, comprising 941 grama panchayats, 152 block panchayats, and 14 district panchayats. Polls will also be held for  86 municipalities and six corporations. 

 Major political parties have already unveiled their candidates for key constituencies. Coming just months ahead of the Assembly election, the local body polls are widely viewed as a barometer of public sentiment.

State Election Commissioner A. Shajahan briefed the media on the election schedule and the model code of conduct to be observed during the campaign period. The local body election process coincides with the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls being carried out by the Central Election Commission in the state. Officials have clarified that the ongoing SIR will not interfere with the preparatory work for the local body polls.

According to the Election Commission, following the recent delimitation exercise by the State Delimitation Commission, the number of wards in the 1,199 local bodies has increased to 23,576. Elections will be held for all three tiers of the local governance structure — Grama Panchayats, Block Panchayats, and District Panchayats — as well as for Municipalities and Corporations.

In Kerala, local body elections are traditionally held just months before the Assembly elections, and their outcome often mirrors the prevailing political mood. The verdict in these polls is seen as a reflection of the degree of pro- or anti-incumbency among the electorate.

In the 2020 local body elections, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) secured a decisive advantage over the United Democratic Front (UDF), winning 11 of the 14 District Panchayats, while the UDF managed only three. In Municipalities, both fronts were evenly matched — the LDF bagged 43 and the UDF 41 — while the BJP registered victories in two municipalities. In terms of vote share, the LDF polled 40.2 per cent, the UDF 37.9 per cent, and the NDA 15 per cent.

The LDF’s strong performance in 2020 foreshadowed the historic Assembly election result that followed, when Kerala voted back an incumbent government for the first time in over four decades.

In Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, a high-stakes battle is already underway with major political fronts announcing their candidates. The corporation, currently ruled by the LDF, has the BJP as the main opposition. The Congress, which was relegated to third place in 2020, has intensified its efforts this time, announcing candidates early and launching an aggressive campaign. The BJP, which has a strong organisational base and a significant voter presence in the capital, is mounting a no-holds-barred campaign to capture the Corporation. The stage is set for a fierce three-cornered contest in the capital.

Thrissur is another corporation the BJP is eyeing. Buoyed by its Lok Sabha victory from the Thrissur constituency earlier this year, the party has stepped up its campaign to gain control of the civic body in the state’s cultural capital.

For the ruling LDF, the upcoming polls are an opportunity to reaffirm its grassroots dominance and counter anti-incumbency ahead of the 2026 Assembly election. The UDF, meanwhile, views the election as a chance to signal a political comeback and test the effectiveness of its restructured leadership.

The BJP, which has been steadily expanding its urban footprint, sees this election as crucial to consolidating its position as a third force in Kerala politics. The party hopes to build on the momentum from its recent Lok Sabha gains and capture at least two corporations and a handful of municipalities.