Kerala local body polls 2025: Pandalam turns pivotal as polling dip sparks uncertainty

The muted turnout of voters in Pathanamthitta has thrown every coalition into a guessing game, but nowhere is the suspense thicker than in the Pandalam municipality, the lone urban fortress of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in south Kerala. With only 71.28% polling, a steep slide from 76.35% in 2020, the political temperature in this town, which lies in the shadow of the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple, is rising faster than ever.

On paper, Pandalam still leads the district’s four municipalities in voter turnout. But the numbers tell a different story. Of the 35,623 voters, only 25,391 showed up this time, fewer than the 25,656 who voted five years ago, despite an increase in the electorate.

With a fierce three-cornered fight unfolding across 34 wards here, the slip in turnout has triggered fresh jitters. Campaigns zoomed in on everything, from development promises to civic grievances, but Sabarimala, as always, set the tone. With the town hosting two major protests linked to the Sabarimala gold scandal, political messaging was intense and unmistakably polarised.

Internal assessments

Predictably, the United Democratic Front (UDF) smells blood. “People turning up in such numbers, even in these conditions, shows we are going to improve our position significantly,” a senior UDF leader claimed. For the Congress-led camp, the turnout figures match their internal assessments.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, is unfazed and insists the dip means nothing. “This is a municipality of core BJP families. We ensured every loyal vote was cast,” argued V.A. Sooraj, BJP district president. In his telling, the lower turnout simply reflects absentee voters on the rolls. The party is betting heavily on its organisational strength and its traditional Pandalam base to secure a consecutive term.

The Left Democratic Front (LDF), meanwhile, has sought to dismiss the chatter over turnout altogether. “Five years ago, the BJP rode the Sabarimala women-entry agitation to whip up resentment. That script collapsed this time,” a Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] leader noted. For the Left, the drop in polling is proof that the BJP could not recreate the emotional surge that once powered its narrative. That anger against the LDF is nowhere near what the BJP hoped for, he added.