The Communist Party of India-Marxist [CPI(M)]-led Left Democratic Front’s (LDF) sweeping win in the local body elections this year was a morale booster for the ruling government, and foretells a clear edge for the incumbent in the upcoming Assembly elections. If the front could repeat its performance in the State Assembly elections scheduled to be held in May 2021, it will be a rare incident in the Kerala election history of a ruling alliance retaining power despite the conventional tendency of the Kerala voters to bring down an incumbent government. With the results of the Local Self Government (LSG) election now out, it is clear that the environment lacks any kind of anti-incumbency vibes and all that the LDF has to do is to keep up the momentum till the Assembly elections.
CPPR Research Intern, Election Studies, Rebecca Rose Varghese writes..