THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After a gap of nearly 15 years, a sense of renewed hope appears to be sweeping through the ranks of the Congress-led UDF. Workers believe the alliance is finally poised to reemerge as a formidable force before the assembly election in 2026.
According to senior leaders, the last time the UDF stormed the local bodies was in 2010. Since then the front has consistently disappointed, especially in 2015 and 2020 when the LDF consolidated its position.
With these polls being viewed as a do-or-die battle, the Congress and allies see it as a curtain raiser to the assembly election. Despite a series of setbacks in recent years, the Congress has succeeded in energising its workers and local leadership. “The end justifies the means,” a Congress political affairs committee member said. “We will not settle for nothing less than success,” he said.
At its Wayanad chintan shivir, the party unveiled Mission 2025, detailing its strategies and road map for local-body polls. “Our workers visited homes before our opponents even began preparatory work,” said KPCC working president P C Vishnunadh. “We distributed leaflets highlighting the failures of the state and central governments, and for the first time, ward committees were authorised to collect funds from the public through coupons,” he said.
The UDF also focused on ensuring that voters affiliated to the front are added to the voters list. For the first time in decades, the Congress’ candidate selection process was uneventful. In Thiruvananthapuram corporation, the party released its list while both CPM and BJP were still finalising candidates. In the 2020 local-body election, the UDF lost Kochi and Thrissur corporations as rebels played spoilsport.
“This time, we were able to fix issues that arose at the grassroots level,” Vishnunadh said. KPCC leaders were named to oversee activities in 14 districts, while senior party leaders were given charge of the six corporations. The leadership’s decision to leave candidate selection to ward committees resulted in lowering the number of defectors.
The UDF will raise the Sabarimala gold-theft controversy as a key issue this election. The opposition front will also look to milk any anti-incumbency against the LDF government. It will also focus on unemployment, the state’s financial strain and setbacks in the health sector, besides local issues.