The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) has maintained a steady and significant lead in the 2026 Kerala Assembly elections, with early trends showing the opposition ahead in over 60 seats.
This strong showing comes as a potential turning point for the state, which has historically alternated power every five years until the LDF broke that tradition in 2021.
The ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) is currently trailing but remains competitive, leading in approximately 50 seats.
Key figures from the Left, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in Dharmadam, have established early leads, but the overall momentum currently favors a UDF comeback after a decade in the opposition.
The BJP-led NDA is also making its presence felt in specific pockets, with early leads in about 5 seats, including a notable performance by Shobha Surendran in the highly watched Palakkad constituency.
Counting is progressing across 140 centers in 43 locations, with the initial leads largely reflecting postal ballots and the first rounds of EVM tabulation.
With a final voter turnout recorded at 79.63%, the race for the 71-seat majority mark remains dynamic, though the UDF’s early advantage has sparked confidence within the Congress camp.
Election officials have noted that while the UDF is ahead in the total count, many individual battles remain neck-and-neck as counting moves into the more populous rural blocks.