‘Deal’ controversy rages in Kerala politics; Congress alleges deal in six constituencies, CM reminds of history

Ahead of the 2026 Kerala assembly elections, the campaign is overshadowed by charges of ‘adjustment politics’ with Opposition alleging a tacit understanding between the ruling CPM-led LDF and the BJP to weaken the Congress-led United Democratic Front(UDF).

The political climate heated up when Opposition leader V D Satheesan alleged an ‘unholy nexus’ between the CPM and the BJP. He triggered a debate by claiming that the ruling CPM and BJP have a secret deal in five constituencies.

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Satheesan claimed that the CPM-BJP alliance exists in five constituencies, Manjeswaram, Kasaragod, Palakkad, Ranni, and Konni. The Congress also alleged that vote sharing has been determined differently in each constituency.

The BJP is expecting a big victory in the Manjeswaran constituency, which is currently held by the UDF. Former BJP state president K. Surendran is seeking a mandate here. V D Satheesan accused the CPM of splitting the Left votes to pave the way for a BJP victory.

The Congress has accused the LDF of fielding a weak candidate from Kasargod to defeat the UDF in its seat. The party alleged that the delay in deciding the candidate for this seat, which was eventually given to the INL in the LDF, was to help the BJP. However, the LDF refuted the allegation saying an independent candidate is being tested to increase the vote share.

Satheesan alleged that the CPM had fielded a Muslim industrialist, NMR Razak, from Palakkad to divide the Muslim votes that the UDF was supposed to get and thereby paving the way for the victory of BJP leader Sobha Surendran. The Konnie seat, which was contested by the BJP last time, has been given to BDJS this time to help the LDF by dividing the BJP votes.

The Congress’s allegation with regard to Ranni is that Twenty-20, instead of BJP, is contesting in this constituency, which includes the Sabarimala temple, to help the LDF. The party alleges that BJP votes would not go to Twenty-20 in full and this will make it easier for the LDF candidate to win in Ranni.

After Satheesan revealed the names of five constituencies where vote swap was decided with specific objectives, former Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala added the name of the Ettumanoor constituency to the list. He alleged that the NDA has fielded a Twenty20 candidate instead of the BJP in Ettumanoor, where Minister V N Vasavan is contesting, to bring BJP votes to the CPM. However, the CPM alleged that the BJP votes won’t go in favour of the LDF, but to the UDF.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan countered the allegations of a CPM-BJP deal by accusing the Congress party of having a historical “unholy nexus” with the RSS and BJP. He labelled the party as a “B-team” of the BJP, arguing that it has consistently engaged in electoral opportunism with right-wing forces to fight the Left. He cited the 2016 Assembly election in Nemom, where he alleged that the Congress facilitated the BJP’s first-ever victory in Kerala by not putting up a strong contest.

He referred to the “Co-Le-Bi” (Congress-League-BJP) alliance, a term used for reported pacts in the 1980s and 1990s in Kerala (specifically naming Vadakara and Beypore) where these parties worked together against the Left.

Vijayan further alleged that in the 1980 Lok Sabha election in Kasaragod, the UDF backed Jan Sangh leader O Rajagopal as their joint candidate. He also recalled the history of Congress supporting the RSS Karya Vaha to defeat AKG in Palakkad in 1971.

The Chief Minister also alleged that KC Venugopal’s resignation from Rajya Sabha and contesting from the Alappuzha Lok Sabha seat in 2024 was also part of a deal with the BJP.