new delhi, April 8
Public campaigning for the April 9 Assembly elections in Kerala, Assam and Puducherry concluded on Tuesday, setting the stage for polling across 126 seats in Assam, 140 in Kerala and 30 in Puducherry. Bye-elections will also be held for five seats across Goa, Karnataka, Nagaland and Tripura. According to the Election Commission, a total of 1,955 candidates are in the fray—Assam accounts for 722, Kerala 890, and Puducherry 294. An additional 49 candidates are contesting the bypolls—three in Goa, 34 in Karnataka and six each in Nagaland and Tripura.
It is a fight for political survival and relevance, with a key trend in these elections being the rise of competitive and multi-cornered contests. For example, in Kerala, the incumbent Left Democratic Front (LDF), led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, is seeking a third consecutive term—an unprecedented feat in a state known for alternating between the LDF and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF). But the BJP’s emergence as a notable force, following its first Lok Sabha win in the state in 2024, has added a new dimension and increased competition to the Kerala contest. The growing saffron presence in states like Kerala and its consolidation in Assam indicate that electoral battles are becoming less predictable, observers said. The campaigns for these elections also highlighted the increasing role of strong, individual leaders. In Assam, for instance, the contest became highly personalised, reflecting a shift towards leader-driven politics where personalities can influence voter perception as much as a party’s ideology. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of the BJP led an aggressive campaign against the Congress’s Gaurav Gogoi, seeking a second term for himself and a third for the BJP-led NDA. The campaign centred on a mix of Hindutva, indigenous identity politics, allegations of illegal immigration, and welfare measures, especially for women and tea garden workers.
