United Democratic Front (Kerala)


The United Democratic Front is the Indian National Congress-led alliance of centre to right-wing political parties in the Indian state of Kerala. It is one of the two major political alliances in Kerala, the other being Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front, each of which has been in power alternately since the 1980 E. K. Nayanar ministry until the [2016 Kerala Legislative Kerala Legislative Assembly|Assembly election|2016 Legislative Assembly election] in the state. The alliance currently acts as the opposition in the state legislature of Kerala. Most of the United Democratic Front constituents are members of the Indian National Congress-led Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance at pan-India level.
United Democratic Front was created by the Indian National Congress party leader K. Karunakaran in 1979, as a successor to the existing Congress-led alliance. The alliance first came to power in 1981 and has won elections to the state legislature of Kerala in the years 1982, 1991, 2001, and 2011. United Democratic Front leaders V. D. Satheesan and K. Sudhakaran currently serve as the Leader of the Opposition and Congress Committee President respectively.
The alliance currently consists of Indian National Congress, Indian Union Muslim League, Kerala Congress (Joseph), Kerala Congress (Jacob), Revolutionary Socialist Party and a variety of other smaller parties. The alliance follows big tent policy and includes a variety political parties.

Current members

Associate Members

History

Antecedents

Precursors to the United Democratic Front were,

United Democratic Front (1979 – present)

The United Democratic Front was formed just before 1980 assembly election. In elections, the Front was defeated by the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front. However, the fall of the first Left Democratic Front ministry resulted in the 6th President's Rule in Kerala.
United Democratic Front first came into power in Kerala in 1981 under K. Karunakaran. It led the Government of Kerala in 1982–87, 1991–96, 2001–06, and 2011–16. The alliance currently serves as the opposition in the Kerala Assembly.

Chief Ministers

Pre-United Democratic Front Chief Ministers (1956 – 1979)

Leaders of Opposition (U. D. F)

Legacy

K. Karunakaran

The Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, was established by bifurcating University of Kerala during the period of 3rd Karunakaran ministry (1982 - 87). It was during the second U. D. F. government, that the last two districts of Kerala, namely Pathanamthitta and Kasaragod, were inaugurated, raising the total number of districts in Kerala to fourteen. During his third tenure as Chief Minister, Karunakaran directly handled the Scheduled Castes Development. Kerala State Film Development Corporation was also introduced during the tenure of Karunakaran.
Chief Minister Karunakaran was instrumental in several infrastructure projects in Kerala which includes the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi, and the Cochin International Airport, both of which were sanctioned during his 1991-95 stint as the Chief Minister. Vallarpadam Terminal, which later became the first transshipment terminal in India was other key project coined during the administration of Karunakaran. Other major infrastructure projects introduced during the terms of Karunakaran include the Goshree Bridges of Kochi, Guruvayur Railway Line, and Rajiv Gandhi Combined Cycle Power Plant at Kayamkulam. The first phase of Kollam Bypass was completed in 1993.

A. K. Antony

Antony administration was instrumental in the establishment of Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology at Thiruvananthapuram. The InfoPark at Kochi was established in the year 2004. It was also under his administration that the Kannur University was created by bifurcating the University of Calicut. The University of Sanskrit was inaugurated in 1994. The Indian Institute of Management and the National Institute of Technology at Kozhikode were established in the years 1996 and 2002 respectively.
The Akshaya Project was implemented in 2002 to expand digital literacy in Kerala. During his tenure as Chief Minister, A. K. Antony introduced the Unemployment Allowance, Festival Allowance for the Kerala state employees.
During his tenure as Chief Minister, A. K. Antony introduced the prohibition of arrack in Kerala. It was at Chief Minister Antony's behest that the decision to construct the new Kerala Legislature Complex was taken in 1977. He also ordered the closure of the Kerala Coca-Cola plant in 2004 due to non-availability of drinking water in the plant area.

Oommen Chandy

It was also during tenure of Oommen Chandy that 12 new taluks, 28 new municipalities, and Kannur Municipal Corporation were formed. It was the largest taluk delimitation in the state of Kerala after 1957. The Kerala Urban Road Transport Corporation was formed under KSRTC in 2015 to manage affairs related to urban transportation. The Chandy ministry established new Government Medical Colleges in Kerala. The "Karunya Scheme" was implemented in the year 2011–12 for the free treatment of patients with cancer, haemophilia, kidney, and heart diseases. A number of organ implantation surgeries were done through the "Mruthasanjeevani Project". The Second Chandy ministry had also taken the decision to prohibit liquor in Kerala by discouraging bars. The number of political killings were relatively low during the period 2011–16 in the state.
Rubber subsidy to ensure a minimum price of Rs 150/kg was implemented in 2015.
In 2005, Information Technology was made a compulsory subject for the school-level students. Victers TV, the children's television channel on EDUSAT for schools, was inaugurated in 2005. The National University of Advanced Legal Studies at Kochi was founded in 2005 and the Indian Institute of Technology at Palakkad was established in the year 2015. The universities founded in 2011–16 period include the Malayalam University at Tirur and Technological University at Thiruvananthapuram. The National Institute of Visual Science and Arts at Kottayam was inaugurated in January 2016. Kerala was declared as the first complete digital state of India on 27 February 2016.
The Kerala Public Service Commission filled the vacant posts during 2011–16. As many as job candidates were appointed, setting a record. As many as 46,223 posts were created in the same period. The Phase-3 of the Technopark at Thiruvananthapuram was inaugurated in 2014. The Taurus Downtown at Technopark was commenced during the period 2011–16. The phase-2 of InfoPark, Kochi was inaugurated in May 2015. Phase-2 of InfoPark Thrissur was completed during the same period. The Park Centre of Cybercity at Kozhikode was formally opened by IT Minister P.K. Kunhalikutty on 15 February 2014. UL Cyberpark at Kozhikode was inaugurated in January 2016. Chandy's regime was instrumental in beginning the construction of the Smart City Project.
Chandy received the United Nation's Public Service Award for his Mass Contact Programme. The government also sanctioned of Unemployment Allowance. Social welfare pension amounts and numbers were doubled during the second Chandy ministry. Old-age pension amounts were also increased. Other social welfare measures during Chandy reign include free ration for those who lost their employment. Free rice was given to those who did not belong to Above Poverty Line (APL). Food kits were distributed to the people during Onam, the Eid, and Christmas.
Chandy government constructed more than 400,000 houses for the homeless people in Kerala.
Chandy's regime was instrumental in beginning the construction of Kannur Airport, the Kochi Metro, and the Vizhinjam Port near Thiruvananthapuram. The Kochi-Mangalore GAIL pipeline was commissioned by the second Chandy ministry in 2013. In 2015, the Cochin Airport became the world's first fully solar powered airport. During his period, 227 road bridges worth nearly Rs 16 billion were built across Kerala.
A number of state highways were constructed under Chandy government and the final decision to widen the national highways of the state to 45 m were taken in 2014. Several "bypass" roads were also constructed.

Kerala Assembly Election results

ElectionAlliance leaderSeats wonChange in seatsOutcome
1980K. KarunakaranNew
1982K. Karunakaran 31
1987K. Karunakaran 16
1991K. Karunakaran 29
1996A. K. Antony 31
2001A. K. Antony 40
2006Oommen Chandy 57
2011Oommen Chandy 30
2016Oommen Chandy 25
2021Ramesh Chennithala 6

List of elected members

State legislature

The United Democratic Front currently has 41 members in the 140-member Kerala Legislative Assembly. The alliance currently forms the Opposition in the Assembly.
'''Key'''

Lok Sabha

Out of the 20 Lok Sabha (House of the People) constituencies in Kerala, 18 were won by the United Democratic Front in 2024 Lok Sabha election.
The following is the list of United Democratic Front Lok Sabha members from the state of Kerala:
Key

No.Parliamentary ConstituencyMember Party affiliation
1KasaragodRajmohan UnnithanINC
2KannurK. SudhakaranINC
3VatakaraShafi ParambilINC
4WayanadPriyanka Gandhi VadraINC
5KozhikodeM. K. RaghavanINC
6MalappuramE. T. Muhammed BasheerIUML
7PonnaniM.P. Abdussamad SamadaniIUML
8PalakkadV. K. SreekandanINC
9ChalakudyBenny BehananINC
10ErnakulamHibi EdenINC
11IdukkiDean KuriakoseINC
12KottayamK. Francis GeorgeKEC
13AlappuzhaK. C. VenugopalINC
14MavelikkaraKodikunnil SureshINC
15PathanamthittaAnto Antony PunnathaniyilINC
16KollamN. K. PremachandranRSP
17AttingalAdoor PrakashINC
18ThiruvananthapuramShashi TharoorINC

Rajya Sabha

The following is the list of United Democratic Front Rajya Sabha members from the state of Kerala:
Key

No.StateMember Party affiliation
1KeralaJebi MatherINC
2KeralaP. V. Abdul WahabIUML