Kerala Assembly Elections 2026: LDF’s bid to retain supremacy in Kozhikode, UDF hopeful of reviving its fortunes

Kozhikode district presents a quirky paradox for the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)]-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF).

While the LDF has had a clear upper hand here in all the Assembly polls held since 2006, it does not have an MP from the district since 2009. The UDF has been able to elect MLAs only in single digits since 2006, with the Congress drawing a blank for over two decades. However, the front has been sweeping all the Lok Sabha polls held since 2009. The upcoming Assembly elections are expected to be a litmus test of the UDF’s bid to break the jinx and the LDF’s efforts to retain its supremacy.

At present, the LDF has its representatives in 11 of the 13 constituencies in the district. The CPI(M) has seven MLAs on its own. The UDF is confined to Vadakara and Koduvally. Though the LDF was confident of repeating its 2021 performance this time as well, it appears that the unexpected setback in the local body polls in 2025 has made them cautious. The front had just managed to come back to power in the Kozhikode Corporation and lost the district panchayat and a number of grama panchayats across the district.

A majority of the incumbent LDF MLAs, except in Koyilandy and Nadapuram, are in the fray again in an apparent bid to cash in on their popularity. Some of the most keenly watched contests are taking place in Beypore, between the LDF’s P.A. Mohamed Riyas and the UDF-backed Independent P.V. Anvar; in Perambra, between the LDF’s T.P. Ramakrishnan and the UDF’s Fathima Thahiliya; in Vadakara, between UDF-backed Revolutionary Marxist Party candidate K.K. Rema and the LDF’s M.K. Bhaskaran; and in Kuttiyadi, between the LDF’s K.P. Kunhammed Kutty and the UDF’s Parakkal Abdulla.

The LDF believes it has an edge in at least eight constituencies, going by the results in the Assembly elections held after the 2008 delimitation exercise. The UDF, meanwhile, hopes to retain its existing seats and add on Kozhikode South, Kunnamangalam, and Nadapuram to the list against the backdrop of its good show in the local body polls. The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance is focussing mainly on the urban segments such as Beypore, Kozhikode South, and Kozhikode North.