Summary of this article
Kerala has topped India’s inflation charts for months, recording 9.49% retail inflation in December 2025 with rural areas hit hardest at over 10%.
Opposition UDF and BJP are slamming the ruling LDF for failing to tame prices of essentials like coconut oil, gold, and daily commodities, calling it a direct blow to middle-class and household budgets.
With LDF seeking a historic third term and polls just days away, inflation has overtaken other issues like unemployment and development as a major talking point influencing voter sentiment.
As Kerala gears up for the high-stakes Assembly elections on April 9, 2026, inflation has surged to the forefront of political discourse, overshadowing traditional campaign themes and putting the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) on the defensive. For the seventh consecutive month in December 2025, the state recorded the country’s highest retail inflation rate at 9.49%, far above the all-India average of 1.33%. Rural inflation climbed even higher to 10.77%, driven largely by soaring prices of coconut oil, gold, and non-food items that dominate Kerala’s unique consumption basket.
Opposition parties have seized on the crisis. Congress-led UDF leaders have repeatedly accused the Pinarayi Vijayan government of “mismanagement” and “failure to control prices,” pointing out that Kerala has held the unwanted No.1 spot in inflation for nearly a year. During Assembly debates last year, UDF MLAs highlighted how the monthly burden on middle-class families had jumped by ₹10,000–15,000 compared to the previous year, squeezing household budgets and eroding living standards.
BJP leaders, too, have joined the chorus, linking high inflation and unemployment to decades of alleged misrule by both Congress and CPM governments. The issue resonates strongly with voters: recent opinion polls and ground surveys show price rise carrying significant weight alongside development and governance concerns.
The LDF, fighting for a rare third consecutive term, has tried to shift focus to its welfare schemes, pay revisions, and social security expansions announced in the final pre-poll budget. However, critics argue that these measures offer little immediate relief on the price front. Global factors such as the West Asia crisis have added pressure through higher fuel and import costs, but parties have largely avoided highlighting them, fearing backlash from the large Kerala diaspora in the Gulf.
Economists note that Kerala’s inflation is structurally different, non-food items and services carry heavier weight (around 66%) in the state’s CPI basket compared to the national average, making it more sensitive to gold prices, coconut oil volatility, and consumption patterns. Even under the revised CPI series, experts warn Kerala may continue to experience higher inflation than most states.
With just days left for polling, all three fronts, LDF, UDF, and NDA, are intensifying their campaigns in key triangular battlegrounds like Nemom, Thrissur, and Pala. I
