LDF Set For Big Victory In Assembly Elections: T. P. Ramakrishnan

Thiruvananthapuram: LDF convener T. P. Ramakrishnan on Friday expressed confidence that the Left Democratic Front would secure a decisive victory in the 2026 Assembly elections, while acknowledging shortcomings in the way the government’s achievements were communicated during the local body polls.

He said the LDF government’s development initiatives, social interventions and welfare measures did not reach the public effectively during the campaign period, creating gaps that were later exploited against the Front. The UDF and the BJP, he said, attempted to dilute the impact of these achievements by resorting to communal polarisation and spreading misinformation among the public. Sections of the media also amplified such narratives, which had an adverse impact on the LDF’s performance in the local body elections.

Ramakrishnan said the Front had contested the local body polls in unity, though some isolated trends worked against it in certain areas. He said corrective measures had already been taken to ensure that such issues do not recur in the future. Drawing a comparison with other states, he said Kerala stands apart as the only state where a government has consistently followed people-oriented and worker-friendly policies. In contrast, he said, the Congress, the Indian Union Muslim League and the BJP have taken positions that go against the interests of ordinary people and workers.

Turning to labour reforms, Ramakrishnan said the positions adopted by political parties across the country on the labour codes were clear. He warned that the wage board system, which journalists depend on for wages and salaries, would effectively be dismantled under the new codes. The impact, he said, would be felt across sectors, with longer working hours and the erosion of minimum wage protections. He pointed out that Kerala currently has minimum wages in force in 87 sectors.

He noted that wage board-related provisions were among the first to be brought before Parliament as part of the labour codes. There was no voting in the Lok Sabha at that stage, he said, pointing out that Left parties are numerically weak in the House. In the Rajya Sabha, MPs from Kerala, including Elamaram Kareem, who opposed the Bill, were suspended. However, Congress MPs, despite having a larger presence in the Lok Sabha, remained silent. This silence, he said, reflected the economic policy pursued by the Congress. He also recalled that when a joint protest against the labour codes was organised in Kerala, the Congress had taken a stand that its trade union wing, the INTUC, should not participate.

Earlier in the day, a meeting of the LDF state committee was held at the AKG Centre under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The meeting reviewed the outcome of the local body elections and discussed strategies to counter the financial squeeze imposed by the Union government and its anti-people policies, as well as ways to press Kerala’s demands before the Centre.