The Election Commission of India has officially announced dates and the schedule for the 2026 Kerala Assembly Elections on Sunday. It's time that the 140 constituencies decide the future of God's own country.

Key Dates To Remember:

Polling Date: 9 April 2026

Counting Date: 4 May 2026

Phases: Single Phase

Gazette Notification: The official election process kicks off this Monday, March 16.

Nominations Deadline: Candidates have until March 23 to file their official papers.

Nomination Scrutiny: All filed nominations will be verified on Tuesday, March 24.

Withdrawal Deadline: Candidates can choose to withdraw from the race by March 26.

Kerala Legislative Assembly's Structure

Kerala's legislative body is known as the Kerala Niyamasabha, a unicameral assembly consisting of 140 elected members from individual constituencies and one nominated member representing the Anglo-Indian community.

Each member of the State Legislative Assembly serves a five-year term, provided it is not dissolved. In the assembly, 14 constituencies are reserved for the Scheduled Castes, while 2 are reserved for the Scheduled Tribes.

Like other state elections across India, Kerala Assembly elections follow the first-past-the-post system, where the candidate receiving the highest number of votes wins the constituency. Voters in Kerala are also given the option to select NOTA (None Of The Above).

The term of the 15th Kerala Legislative Assembly is set to expire before May 23, 2026.

3 Key Alliances in Kerala

Left Democratic Front (LDF)

The Left Democratic Front (LDF) is a coalition of center-left to left-wing political parties led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M). The alliance also includes the Communist Party of India (CPI) and several smaller parties.

The LDF presently governs Kerala following its victory in the 2021 elections.

United Democratic Front (UDF) 

The United Democratic Front (UDF) is an alliance of centrist and center-left political parties led by the Indian National Congress (INC). The alliance was founded in 1978 by veteran Congress leader K. Karunakaran.

UDF remains the principal opposition bloc in Kerala.

National Democratic Alliance (NDA)

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Kerala is headed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and includes parties such as Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) and other smaller regional groups.

Although the alliance has been attempting to expand its political presence in the state, it has struggled to gain significant electoral success in Kerala.

The 2021 Kerala Assembly Elections

Pinarayi Vijayan won the legislative assembly election in 2021 at Dharmadam by a huge margin of 50,123 votes. He got 59.61 per cent of votes while the vote share of the congress candidate C.The election saw the Left Democratic Front (LDF) retain power with a historic mandate.

The result marked the first time since 1977 that a ruling alliance won consecutive terms in Kerala, breaking a long-standing pattern of alternating governments in the state.