Desk Correspondent , Thiruvananthapuram – Kerala has been one of the major states for Communist Party of India (Marxist) being the second place in the world to democratically elect a communist party as governing body. But in the 2026 Kerala Assembly election the CPI(M) faces an existential battle for Left Democratic Front (LDF) led by CMP(M) which has been in power for 10 years. With this Pinarayi Vijayan became the first Chief Minister in the history of Kerala to complete five years and again becoming CM in 2021. 

In the last decade CPI(M) has lost a lot of its influence it once had. With loses in West Bengal since 2011 and Tripura in 2018 Kerala remains it sole bastion. Although the government changes between Congress and CPI(M) but Pinarayi Vijayan at the age of has create a record when he again became the CM of Kerala in 2021. But now CPI(M) face some major issues both external and internal. For context rebellion has emerged in Kannur district which is also the home turf of Vijayan. This rebellion is led by former Minister from south Kerala and two district leaders from Kannur who accuse Vijayan of running the party like private limited company. Furthermore Congress-led UDF and BJP-led NDA are observed gaining power. Both Congress and BJP are trying to portray CPI(M) as each other’s plan-B.

In the past few elections CPI(M) field several young candidates like Dipsita Dhar and Meenakshi Mukherjee but due to lack of management has damaged their prospects. Prominent youth leaders like Ritabrata Banerjee, Prasenjit Bose and Pratik Ur Rahman have left the party. The election can be seen as a test for the survival of organized Left politics in its last major strong hold.