India, March 30 -- For years, a trend of political power largely alternating between two coalitions persisted in Kerala. It was either the Left Democratic Front (LDF) led by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan's CPI(M) or the United Democratic Front (UDF) led by Congress that people voted to power alternatively every five years.This trend was broken by Vijayan-led LDF, which retained power, winning 99 of the 140 seats in 2021, the first time in four decades that a coalition won Assembly elections in Kerala for the second consecutive time.

A similar challenge faces the LDF this time as well, with the UDF led by Congress yet again being its only key opponent, making the contest two-cornered. Meanwhile, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance ...