Thiruvananthapuram April 8 (IANS) With hours to go before Kerala votes to elect 140 MLAs, the electoral landscape is marked less by any single dominant narrative and more by a series of undercurrents that have made this contest unusually layered.

The fight between the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF) remains intense across regions, but what stands out this time is the internal churn within parties, particularly within the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M).

In an unprecedented development, at least three former CPI-M MLAs are now in the fray as candidates of the UDF, while another former legislator is contesting on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket.

The situation is further complicated in Kannur, long considered a CPI-M stronghold, where seasoned leaders such as T.K. Govindan and V. Kunjikrishnan are contesting with UDF backing, underscoring a rare moment of dissent within the party’s ranks.

Even as the Left grapples with these defections, the campaign’s closing phase saw Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan adopting an unusually combative tone.

His sharp remarks targeting his Telangana counterpart, Revanth Reddy, on Tuesday added to the political heat, drawing both criticism and attention in equal measure.

On the other side, detractors of the Congress-led UDF have pointed to persistent factional undercurrents within the Congress.

The public sparring and competing assertions of influence among senior leaders such as V. D. Satheesan, Ramesh Chennithala and K. Sudhakaran have, at times, lent the impression of a divided house, even as the alliance attempts to project unity before voters.

Regionally, Central Kerala remains highly competitive, North Kerala continues to favour the LDF with pockets of resistance, while the southern districts present a mixed and fluid picture.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), trying its best to become a dominant force statewide, could influence outcomes in closely fought constituencies.

As polling begins at 7 a.m on Thursday, Kerala’s verdict will be shaped not just by traditional loyalties, but by these shifting equations, defections, internal rivalries and a sharply contested campaign that has kept the political temperature high till the very end.

–IANS

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