Given the cyclical nature of Kerala’s politics, it may be premature to write off the Left Democratic Front in the state after the resounding defeat in this assembly election. This is the first time in almost 50 years that the Left has no state government in the country. But Kerala has seen both the LDF and the Congress-led United Democratic Front — the winner in 2026 — bounce back from similar setbacks. If anything, periodic defeats have kept them fighting fit. And since the verdict is seen as a personal blow to the outgoing chief minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, this may be a good opportunity for the Communist Party of India (Marxist) to convince him to loosen his grip on the Kerala unit and, by extension, on the entire party organisation. Mr Vijayan’s is such an imposing presence in the party that his politics, complemented by his push for infrastructure and his strongman demeanour, is often likened to the personalised brand of politics practised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mr Vijayan’s centralised rule that saw dynastic politics enter the CPI(M) appears to have been its undoing: the party suffered major losses in its bastion of Kannur. The Congress’s charge of the Left being soft on Hindutva appears to have stuck too as the CPI(M) — seen as the party of choice of the majority community of Kerala — turned a deaf ear to a Ezhava leader’s remarks targeting Muslims in the hope of preventing the community vote from shifting — but, seemingly, in vain.

The Left is no stranger to punching above its weight in and outside legislatures. Even before the 2004 elections — when the four Left parties together bagged an all-time high of 59 seats in the Lok Sabha — the Left was a voice that was heard and taken note of. That has changed even though the material conditions on the ground — growing inequality and labour issues — are fertile for Left politics. Yet, the Left has been unable to find a language that appeals to the new forms of labour. Even recently, when gig workers protested in Gurgaon, leaders from ‘bourgouise’ parties were in the forefront. And with every party, including the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party, adopting welfare schemes as an electoral tool, a major plank of the Left seems to have been usurped. Under the circumstances, the Kerala model of switching between LDF and UDF every election may be the Left’s only lifeline; more so when the space for Opposition politics has shrunk with the BJP appropriating practically every segment and issue.