KOCHI: For Sudheer, a recently retired employee of BPCL Kochi refinery, the newly opened bridge to Perumbalam island is more than infrastructure—it is time saved. For decades, his daily commute depended on ferry schedules. Missing the early morning boat meant reaching the office late. “I had to take a boat as early as 6.30am just to punch in on time,” he recalls.
That routine has ended with the commissioning of the Perumbalam bridge, which now connects the island’s nearly 10,000 residents to the mainland by road. The change has been immediate—land prices have risen, visitors have increased, and local products such as kudampuli (Malabar tamarind) are finding new markets.
For many, such projects symbolise the transformation Kerala has witnessed over the past decade under Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the LDF government.
A similar shift is visible in Kochi’s IT corridor. When IBM set up its Software Labs facility at Infopark in 2022, it marked one of the biggest technology investments in the state in recent years. Within a short span, the Kochi unit grew to nearly 3,000 employees. For young professionals, this has been a game-changer. Product companies like IBM Labs offer starting salaries of around Rs 10 lakh per annum—significantly higher than those of typical IT services firms.
“Youngsters now have the option of getting placed near their homes in Kerala,” says Manu Joseph, placement officer at Rajagiri School of Engineering & Technology, which saw nine of its female students joining IBM Software Labs in the 2025 placement season.
These examples form the backbone of LDF’s development narrative as Kerala heads towards another assembly polls.
Writer and columnist Rammohan Paliyath believes the scale of development is historically significant. “After Sir C P Ramaswamy Iyer, it is under Pinarayi Vijayan’s tenure that Kerala has seen such visible progress,” he says.
However, some economists argue that Kerala’s development story cannot be confined to the last decade alone. Economist S Krishnakumar, an associate professor at Sri Venkateswara College, University of Delhi, argues that the state’s growth has been cumulative—shaped by policies and decisions across governments, including those led by the Congress-led UDF. “There has always been a trajectory in favour of development,” he says. “What we are seeing now is a continuation rather than a sudden shift.” He also points to a significant ideological shift within the Left itself.
According to him, in the 1970s, sections of the Left resisted technological adoption due to a fear of job loss—a position he describes as “un-Marxian”.
“That hesitation cost Kerala opportunities,” he says.
At the same time, Krishnakumar credits earlier governments, especially the Congress-backed C Achutha Menon government (during the 1970s) with building strong institutional foundations. However, he flags higher education as a continuing concern, which the LDF government failed to address.
As Kerala approaches the assembly polls, LDF’s campaign is expected to centre on visible development gains—bridges linking remote regions, highways revived after years of delay, and global companies setting up operations.
But whether these translate into votes remains an open question.
Continuation or sudden shift?
From highways and bridges to metro expansion, water metro services, schools, and IT parks, the past decade has seen a sustained push in infrastructure creation.
The government has paired this with welfare measures, including enhanced social security pensions and housing initiatives, projecting a model that combines development with social support.
Some economists argue Kerala’s development story is broader and cannot be confined to the last decade alone, a “continuation rather than a sudden shift.”