Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has predicted a major shift in India’s political landscape ahead of the 2026 Assembly election results, saying the Left Democratic Front (LDF) could lose its last remaining stronghold in the country.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Tharoor said that if exit poll projections are accurate, it would mark the first time in recent history that the Left is out of power in any Indian state.
"I would agree that the most important story that will come out of this from tomorrow is that it will be the first time that the LDF is not in power anywhere in the country," he said.
He noted that the Left earlier held power in West Bengal, Tripura and Kerala, but lost Bengal in 2011 and Tripura in 2018, leaving Kerala as its only remaining governed state.
"The most important story tomorrow will be that it is the first time the LDF is not in power anywhere in the country," Tharoor remarked. "When they lost Kerala and Bengal in 2011, they still had Tripura. This time, they will have nowhere. That is a major development for our country," he said.
He added that Kerala has traditionally seen a rotation of power between the LDF and the United Democratic Front (UDF), and said exit polls suggest a break in that pattern.
"Exit polls in our country have lots of problems. I don't want to particularly rely on them, but they have all agreed with each other, which is amazing. Unanimous conclusion. All the experts, the journalists, the observers, and political analysts from various parties whom I have spoken to since the 4th of April, they're all unanimous that this is going to be a UDF win. So it would be an astonishing result if it were not that kind of win. So I think we're here to see what comes in tomorrow morning, but I'm expecting by mid-morning it will be a very clear and convincing narrative in our favour", Congress MP said.
Tharoor also pointed out that the LDF had broken Kerala’s long-standing pattern of alternating governments by winning a second consecutive term in 2021, ending a 40-year “yo-yo” cycle between the two fronts. A UDF win, as projected by exit polls, would send the LDF into the opposition and end its sole administrative foothold in the country.
Meanwhile, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan updated his social media bio on Sunday, a day before counting of votes for the Assembly elections. His revised bio now reads "Polit Bureau Member, Communist Party of India (Marxist)".
Exit poll projections indicate an advantage for the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF). Axis My India projected that UDF will win 78 to 90 seats in the 140-member Assembly, while LDF may secure 49 to 62 seats and the BJP-led NDA between zero and three seats.
People’s Pulse projected 75 to 85 seats for the UDF, 55 to 60 for the LDF, and 0–3 for the NDA. JVC projected 72 to 84 seats for the UDF, 52 to 60 for the LDF, and 3 to 8 for the NDA.
Kerala went to polls on April 9 in a single phase, recording a voter turnout of 78.27 per cent. In the 2021 elections, the LDF had won 99 of 140 seats, with CPI(M) alone securing 62, and Pinarayi Vijayan returning as Chief Minister for a second term.
The results of the Kerala Assembly elections will be declared on May 4, along with those of Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry.
(With inputs from ANI)
