Elections in Kerala


Elections in Kerala are regularly held to appoint government officials at various levels, both within the state of Kerala and in India as a whole. These elections encompass national elections as well as regional elections for local bodies and panchayats.
The Kerala Assembly has the authority to enact laws concerning the conduct of local body elections independently. However, any modifications made by the state legislature to the procedures of state-level elections require approval from the Parliament of India. In addition, the state legislature may be dismissed by the Parliament according to Article 356 of the Indian Constitution and President's rule may be imposed.
The Election Commission of India prepares the electoral rolls for elections to the Parliament of India and the Kerala Legislative Assembly, and conducts these elections.
Kerala State Election Commission prepares the electoral rolls of Panchayats, Municipalities and Municipal Corporations and conduct their elections. The State Election Commissioner is also the Chairman of the Delimitation Commission.

Types of elections

Elections in Kerala include elections for:

Lok Sabha elections

Members of parliament in the Lok Sabha from Kerala are directly elected by being voted upon by all adult citizens of the state from a set of candidates who stand in their respective constituencies. Every adult citizen of Kerala can vote only in their constituency. Candidates who win the Lok Sabha elections are called "Members of Parliament" and hold their seats for five years or until the body is dissolved by the president of India on the advice of the council of ministers. The house meets in the Lok Sabha Chamber of the Sansad Bhavan in New Delhi on matters relating to the creation of new laws or removing or improving the existing laws that affect all citizens of India. Elections take place once every five years to elect 20 members from Kerala. The leader of the majority party or alliance in the country takes oath as prime minister of India. Indian General Elections in Kerala has been mainly contested between two political parties since the formation of the state. The Indian National Congress which currently leads United Democratic Front (UDF) alliance and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) which currently leads Left Democratic Front (LDF) alliance. The Indian National Congress has been in lead, 11 out of 16 election from 1957 in Kerala.
The elections for both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are conducted by the Election Commission of India.


State Legislative Assembly Elections

Members of the Kerala Legislative Assembly are directly elected by being voted upon by all adult citizens of the state from a set of candidates who stand in their respective constituencies. Every adult citizen of Kerala can vote only in their constituency. Candidates who win the legislative assembly elections are called "Members of the Legislative Assembly" and hold their seats for five years or until the body is dissolved by the governor of Kerala on the advice of the council of ministers. The house meets in the Assembly Chamber of the Chief Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram on matters relating to the creation of new laws or removing or improving the existing laws that affect all citizens of Kerala. Elections take place once every five years to elect 140 members to the legislative assembly. The leader of the majority party or alliance takes oath as chief minister of Kerala.

Local Body elections

The elections for local self-government institutions, such as panchayats and municipalities, are conducted by the Kerala State Election Commission, which is an independent constitutional authority.
Panchayat Elections is a term widely used in Kerala, India, for the polls that are held to select the Local Self-government Representatives. There are three branches of local self-government institutions in Kerala, officially known as Panchayati Raj Institutions, responsible for rural governance. They are Grama Panchayat which can be translated as Village Government, Block Panchayat and District Panchayat. A Grama Panchayat is almost an equivalent to City administration and, Block Panchayat is for a rural block District Panchayat to a County.
There are two more wings namely Municipality which is the urban local government that exists only in major towns and Municipal ''Corporations that come only in six major cities. Consequent to the 73rd Amendment to the Constitution of India, the local self-government institutions are to function as the third tier of government.
At present, there are 1200 local governments in Kerala, which includes 941 Grama Panchayats, 152 Block Panchayats, 14 District Panchayats, 87 Municipalities and 6 Municipal Corporations.
The last Election to the Local Self-government Institutions in Kerala'' was held in 2025 december. The results were announced on 13 december 2025. Next local body elections are scheduled to be held in 2030.