Congress In Kerala: Why Factionalism Hurts UDF Every Election

Last Updated:April 01, 2026, 18:01 IST

Kerala votes April 9 2026 as UDF challenges LDFs third term bid, Congress faces factional rifts over Kannur seat and CM choice amid long term decline in assembly seats

Kerala votes on April 9, 2026, with the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) challenging an LDF seeking a third consecutive term. The UDF goes to polls with two unresolved internal disputes: a standoff over the Kannur assembly seat and an open row over who should be Chief Minister if the alliance wins. Both disputes have the same structural cause, and it predates every election cycle the party has contested in the state.

The Power-Sharing Formula That Preserved The Factions

Kerala Congress’s factional architecture dates to 1978, when former Chief Minister K. Karunakaran formalised the Congress (I) faction, with the ‘I’ signalling loyalty to Indira Gandhi, as reported by The South First. Two years later, A.K. Antony broke away to form Congress (A), drawing in younger leaders including Oommen Chandy. The two groups developed a power-sharing arrangement: whichever faction held the Chief Minister’s post, the other held the KPCC president’s chair. During Antony’s tenure as Chief Minister from 2001 to 2004, Congress (I)’s K. Muraleedharan ran the KPCC. When Chandy governed the state between 2011 and 2016, Chennithala held the party presidency, with the arrangement managing the factions, thus leading to the factions remaining safe, and not dismantled.

The Departure Of The Balancing Figures

Karunakaran, a four-time Chief Minister, died in 2010. Antony moved into national politics. Chandy’s death removed the last leader with the standing to hold the A group together across generations. Political researcher Mini Mohan told The South First that the party now lacks a figure with the stature of either Karunakaran or Chandy to take charge comprehensively, and that almost every leader has turned into a faction of their own.

The Seat Count From 2001 To 2021

The consequences show up in the tallies. In 2001, Congress won 63 of Kerala’s 140 assembly seats. By 2011, it held 38. By 2016, the number dropped to 22, and in 2021, to 21, barely different across a full election cycle. The LDF’s 2021 win was the first time since 1980 that either alliance in Kerala secured consecutive terms. The UDF has since spent a decade in opposition.

The 2026 Campaign: Kannur And The CM Question

Former KPCC president K. Sudhakaran defied a high command directive barring Members of Parliament from contesting assembly seats. The deadlock in Kannur stemmed from a power struggle between factions led by Opposition Leader V.D. Satheesan and former LoP Ramesh Chennithala, each seeking to secure more Assembly seats for their loyalists. The CM question surfaced separately at a UDF election convention in Tiruvalla, where former Rajya Sabha deputy chairman P.J. Kurien publicly declared Chennithala would lead the state if the UDF came to power, with Chennithala seated on the same dais. Per established party convention, Congress does not name a CM candidate before elections. An internal survey reportedly conducted by election strategist Sunil Kanugolu, details of which were leaked to the media, flagged organisational weaknesses in at least four districts and predicted neck-and-neck contests in several constituencies rather than decisive swings, The Federal reported. For a party banking on anti-incumbency against a third-term LDF, converting that mood into a seat majority requires organisational coherence. On the current evidence, it is what the UDF most visibly lacks.

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