Kozhikode in a tight LDF-UDF-BJP showdown for a 76-seat council
Kozhikode in a tight LDF-UDF-BJP showdown for a 76-seat council
As Kozhikode gears up for December 11 polls, the LDF touts progress and UNESCO ties, while UDF and BJP push contrasting narratives to capture the city’s next council.
A high-stakes electoral contest is brewing in the Kozhikode Corporation as local body polls approach on December 11, over a year after the city was named India's first UNESCO City of Literature. The scene: LDF, UDF, and BJP vie to shape the city's future in a tightly watched battleground that has defined local politics for decades.
The CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front enters the race with momentum, given 45 years of control and a map that includes four assembly constituencies within the city, plus two state ministers among its ranks. A new council size, up from 75 to 76 seats, means ward-by-ward campaigning will be even more granular.
The UDF, led by Congress, is trying to cash in on anti-incumbency and the city's governance record, highlighting the 2022 building number scam controversy as a talking point. The BJP positions itself as a practical alternative in divisions where voters say fatigue has taken hold of both fronts.
LDF points to tangible achievements in waste management, welfare, and health. It highlights Kozhikode's jump from 367 to 70 in the Swachh Survekshan rankings, crediting the AZHAK hygiene protocol for sweeping changes across households and public spaces.
Delimitation in 2010 reshaped the council, adding Elathur, Cheruvannur, and Beypore gram panchayats to the Corporation and shrinking the UDF tally from higher numbers to 17 by 2020. With the current composition, the race is about who can convert the 76 seats into a mandate, and whether the city can break its long LDF dominance.
As campaigning intensifies, voters are weighing performance against promises, and observers say the December 11 results could redefine urban governance in this UNESCO-lit city.
Cover image source: Kerala local body polls: In Kozhikode Corporation, UDF plots a comeback in LDF bastion of half a century 🔗
