AFTER the formation of the CPI(M), the first election was conducted in Kerala in the year 1965. It was a time of ordeal for our Party. Most of our leaders were arrested and they were imprisoned by the central government calling them as Chinese agents. This caused a severe crisis on the organisational front. In this complicated political situation, the political relations between the political parties were also highly complicated. The Communist party formed a united front with some small Left parties and contested the election. The Congress party contested single-handedly. The CPI and the RSP made an alliance. In this election, the Congress and the CPI tried to defeat the CPI(M). All the monopoly media groups outside and inside Kerala supported this. They had used the allegation of being Chinese agents against us. During this time, the union home minister Gulzarilal Nanda published a white paper and its contents were used against us vehemently. At that time, our Party had conducted a wide campaign on our stand on India-China war and on the border issues. We strongly argued that war is not a solution for border dispute and the best remedy for the dispute is negotiation. We had presented before the people that at this political junction, for the betterment of the people in India and specifically in Kerala, they should vote against the Congress and defeat them. To a certain extent, the people in Kerala approved our line. They approved our independent stand and voted in favour of the CPI(M). This victory is the first one after the split in the party and by this, we could successfully overcome the ordeal using this tactical line. The CPI(M) became the single largest Party in the state assembly. Our 44 members were elected. Of these 44 MLAs, 29 were in jail. Without any kind of trial, they were kept behind the bar. On this ground, the Congress party argued that the largest party could not form a government, because their members are in jail. The governor approved this argument and did not call the assembly and he dissolved it. The CPI and the Socialist Party protested against this anti-democratic stand. The Party led several joint movements against the central government’s anti-people policies. That caused the formation of a seven-party front against the Congress. In the 1967 election, this front under the leadership of the CPI(M) made a united fight against the Congress. The Congress got only 9 out of 133 seats. The CPI(M) had got 54 seats. In the election to the Lok Sabha, this front had got 18 out of 19 seats. The CPI(M) itself had got 9 and the CPI had got 3 seats. The seven-party front government was going with so many welfare measures to the people. But the CPI, RSP and League formed a mini front inside the front and they tried to unite with the Congress and finally this caused the resignation of the government. In 1970, election was declared to the assembly and the CPI(M) led front got 46 seats. Single handedly CPI(M) had got 32 seats. The Congress led front got 69 seats and they formed the government. In the year 1971 Lok Sabha election was also conducted under the same political alliance and CPI(M) got 2 seats and VK Krishna Menon was also elected as an independent candidate with the opposition support. The Congress led front had got 16 seats. In 1975, internal emergency was declared in India and a huge protest took place all over India against this anti democratic stand of the Congress party. Parties like the CPI supported the emergency. In the emergency period, the government declared elections to the Lok Sabha and assembly and the Congress led front had got 111 seats and the opposition front had got only 29 seats. Even though they got a thumping majority, that government could not complete its term. Differences came about between the Congress and its allies. In the mean time, bye-election to the four seats of assembly was held and the CPI(M) led front won all the four seats. A set of Congressmen led by AK Antony, split from Congress and formed a separate group and they joined with the CPI(M) front. A section of Kerala Congress under the leadership of KM Mani also joined with the CPI(M) front. This changed political situation after the emergency formed two strong political fronts in Kerala, the LDF and the UDF. In the 1980 election, the CPI(M) was part of the Left Democratic Front and contested. In the 10th Party Congress of the CPI(M), it had approved a tactical line for the formation of a Left Democratic Front. Even though the LDF formed in Kerala was not like what was envisaged in the 10th Party Congress, but it was formed as a step forward in that direction of our aims. In this election, the LDF had got 93 seats and the UDF got only 46 seats. In the 1980 Lok Sabha election also, the LDF got upper hand and it got 12 out of 20 seats. The CPI(M) had got 6 seats. The UDF had got 8 seats. Out of it, the Congress (I) had got 5 seats. In the all India situation, the Congress had got a rebirth and this changed the political situation in Kerala also. A group of Congressmen under the leadership of AK Antony and Kerala Congress led by KM Mani went out of the LDF. In this situation, the government led by CPI(M) could not complete its tenure. Under these circumstances, the LDF government in Kerala resigned and a new mid-term election was declared in 1982 and in that election, the UDF got 77 seats and the LDF got only 63. In the year 1984, Lok Sabha election took place and due to the changed all India political situation and the new front politics helped the UDF to bag 17 seats. The LDF got only 3 three seats. In it, the CPI(M) had got only one. The next assembly election took place in the year 1987. In the mean time, some important political changes occurred in Kerala. Then CPI(M) leader MV Raghavan was ousted from the Party. Due to this reason, some of his followers had left from the CPI(M). All India Muslim League, an ally of the LDF had quit from the front and merged with Indian Union Muslim League. Media made a huge propaganda against the LDF saying that due to the new situation, there is no chance for the LDF to win. But the people in Kerala proved otherwise and the LDF got 78 seats and came to power. In the 1989 Lok Sabha election, Kerala Congress (J) quit the UDF and contested alone. In this election, the LDF got 3 seats and the UDF got the other 17 seats. The next parliament election took place when the LDF government under the leadership of Comrade EK Nayanar completed their fourth year in power. The LDF decided to conduct the assembly election also along with the parliament election considering its marvelous victory in the district panchayat election and acceptance of various welfare measures by the people implemented by the LDF government. There was every chance for a thumping majority but in the last hour of the election campaign, the then Prime Minister Rajeev Gandhi was assassinated. This sympathetical wave helped the UDF to win the election. In this election, the Kerala Congress (J) had become an ally of the LDF. The UDF got 92 seats and the LDF got 48 in the assembly. In Lok Sabha, the LDF got 4 and the UDF got 16 seats. The CPI(M) got 3 seats where as the Congress got 13 out of 16 seats. After completing 5 years in power, the UDF faced assembly elections in 1996. To get the approval of the people, the UDF prohibited arrack before the election and made a wide publicity of it. But they failed miserably and the LDF got 80 seats and the UDF got only 59 seats. In the Lok Sabha election held simultaneously, both the LDF and the UDF got 10 seats. In the Lok Sabha election held during 1998 and 1999, the UDF had bagged 11 seats where as the LDF got 9 seats only. 2001 assembly election results were in favour of the UDF. During that period, globalisation policies were forcibly executed against the people and the repercussions from the people took place against the ruling Left front. So the LDF got only 40 seats in the election and the UDF got 99 seats. In 2004 we saw the Lok Sabha election, which was conducted after the BJP came into power. In this election, the LDF got a thumping victory and it got 18 out of the total 20 seats. The Congress party did not get any seat in the election for the first time in the history of Kerala. The Muslim League got one seat and an independent candidate PC Thomas was elected from Moovattupuzha. This was the biggest victory for the LDF in Kerala history after its inception. After completing 5 years in power, the UDF faced assembly election in the year 2006. The LDF had got a historical victory and it got 98 seats. In the 2009 Lok Sabha election, the LDF got 4 seats and all were from the CPI(M). The LDF government executed a number of alternative policies to the neo-liberal policies of the central government. These were very relief-giving measures to the common people and the LDF reached near to the victory in the assembly election held in May 2011. The LDF got 67 and the UDF got 73 seats. In this election, some of our former allies viz., Kerala Congress (J), Jantha Dal Veerendrakumar group and Kerala Congress Secular stood with the UDF. Yet the LDF got such a victory due to the people-friendly policies it executed while in power. In the 2014 Lok Sabha election, the CPI(M) got 7 seats and CPI got one. Whenever our Party led front came into power in Kerala we had executed a number of welfare measures in favour of the common people. Land reforms, Education Bill, welfare pensions to the unorganised workers, public distribution system, complete literacy programme, people’s plan, house, water, and light for all etc are some of the examples. The central government with the help of the media, caste and religious leaders and with the joint effort of the richest people had tried to sabotage our governments and to defeat us in the elections. We can see that the voting patterns in the Lok Sabha and assembly elections were different in Kerala. Earlier political influence was the deciding factor in the elections. The tactical lines adopted helped the growth of the Party in Kerala. One another important speciality of the Kerala election pattern is that when the Congress fails at the all India level, they can gather support in Kerala. For the first time in India, the Congress lost its monopoly of power after the emergency period. They failed miserably in north Indian states. But then also, the Congress led front in Kerala got all the seats. The peculiarities in the combination of the front also helped in the UDF victory. The social atmosphere formed from the social development also changed the voting pattern of the people in Kerala. The land reforms and other welfare measures improved the standard of living of the people in Kerala. By this, a new middle class has risen in Kerala. Some of them are under the illusion that the neo-liberal policies can uplift their status and are helpful for their life. This has also influenced the voting pattern of the Kerala people. The rich in Kerala are also coming into the leadership of the caste organisations and they are using their position to divide the people who are coming under the class organisations and by that to weaken the Left politics. The Kerala media in general is trying to shape a socio-political situation against the Left movement. They know that the attack from the right side will not influence the Left minded people in Kerala and so they are trying to attack the Left from the extreme left side. The Left extremists are getting more coverage from them. This also influences the voting pattern of the Kerala people. These specialties of the Kerala politics would be addressed by the Left movement in Kerala. Right politics in Kerala is trying to weaken the people’s politics and isolate the communists. For this, without any hesitation, they will smash the democratic values. But all the Left parties have not been well aware of this for proceeding ahead understanding these anti-people policies of the rightist forces. In such circumstances, the CPI(M) was the only party which could forge ahead, taking forward the people oriented measures and to interfere in the elections and could keep intact the revolutionary path of the Communist movement in Kerala. The history of the Kerala electoral politics is the history of the CPI(M)’s political work for the people. The efforts of the Party for the welfare of the people in Kerala resulted in the progress it achieved.