United Democratic Front (Kerala)

For the political alliance in Mizoram, see United Democratic Front (Mizoram).

United Democratic Front
Abbreviation	UDF
Chairman	V. D. Satheesan
Founder	K. Karunakaran
Founded	1979;45 years ago (1979)
Headquarters	"Indira Bhavan", Vellayambalam, Thiruvananthapuram District, Kerala
Student wing	The United Democratic Students' Front (UDSF)
Ideology	Big tent Factions Social democracy [1] Conservatism/Liberal conservatism [2] [3] Economic liberalism [4] Sustainable development [1]
Political position	Centre [5]
Alliance	I.N.D.I.A
Seats in  Lok Sabha	18 / 20 (Kerala)
Seats in  Rajya Sabha	3 / 9 (Kerala)
Seats in  Kerala Legislative Assembly	41 / 140
Politics of India Political parties Elections

The United Democratic Front (UDF) is the Indian National Congress-led alliance of centre to centre-right political parties in the Indian state of Kerala. ^[5] It is one of the two major political alliances in Kerala, the other being Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front, each of which has been in power alternately since 1980 E. K. Nayanar ministry. ^[6] Most of the United Democratic Front constituents are members of the Indian National Congress-led Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance at pan-India level.

United Democratic Front was created by the Indian National Congress (then known as Congress-Indira) party leader K. Karunakaran in 1979, as a successor to the existing Congress-led alliance. ^[7] The alliance first came to power in 1981 (K. Karunakaran ministry) and has won elections to the state legislature of Kerala in the years 1982 (Karunakaran ministry), ^[8] 1991 (Karunakaran and A. K. Antony ministries), ^[9] 2001 (Antony and Oommen Chandy ministries), ^[10] and 2011 (Oommen Chandy ministry). ^[11] The alliance currently acts as the opposition in the state legislature of Kerala (after the 2021 legislative assembly election). United Democratic Front leaders V. D. Satheesan and K. Sudhakaran currently serves as the Leader of the Opposition and Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee President respectively. ^[12]

The alliance currently consists of Indian National Congress, Indian Union Muslim League, Kerala Congress (Joseph), Kerala Congress (Jacob), Revolutionary Socialist Party and a variety of other smaller parties. The alliance follows big tent policy and includes a variety political parties. ^[1]

Current members

Party		Abbr.	Flag	MPs in Lok Sabha	MPs in Rajya Sabha	MLA in state legislature	Base state	Kerala leader
1	Indian National Congress	INC		14	01	20	National Party	K. Sudhakaran
2	Indian Union Muslim League	IUML		02	02	15	Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Bihar	P. K. Kunhalikutty
3	Kerala Congress	KEC		01	00	02	Kerala	P. J. Joseph
4	Kerala Congress (Jacob)	KEC(J)		00	00	01	Kerala	Anoop Jacob
5	Revolutionary Socialist Party	RSP		01	00	00	Kerala	Shibu Baby John
6	Kerala Democratic Party	KDP		00	00	01	Kerala	Mani C. Kappan
8	Revolutionary Marxist Party of India	RMPI		00	00	01	Kerala	K. K. Rema
7	Communist Marxist Party	CMP		00	00	00	Kerala	C. P. John
9	National Janata Dal	NJD		00	00	00	Kerala	Adv John John
10	Janathipathiya Samrakshana Samithy	JSS		00	00	00	Kerala	Rajan Babu
11	All India Forward Bloc	AIFB		00	00	00	West Bengal	T. Manoj Kumar

Special invitee

• Kerala Pravasi Association ^[13]

History

Antecedents

Precursors to the United Democratic Front were,

• Joint Front (Pattom and Sankar ministries)
  • Congress - Praja Socialist Party - Indian Union Muslim League (left 1961)
• Congress-supported "Mini Front" or "Democratic Front" (Menon ministry)
  • Communist Party of India - Indian Union Muslim League - Kerala Congress - Indian Socialist Party
• Congress-supported "United Front"
  • "Mini Front" or "Maxi Front" (Second Menon ministry)
    • Congress (from 1971) - Communist Party of India Indian Union Muslim League - Revolutionary Socialist Party - Praja Socialist Party - Kerala Congress (from 1975)
  • "Ruling Front" or "Maxi Front Revamped" (Karunakaran, Antony and P. K. V. ministries)
    • Congress - Communist Party of India - Kerala Congress - Indian Union Muslim League - Revolutionary Socialist Party
  • Indian Union Muslim League - Praja Socialist Party - National Democratic Party alliance (supported by Congress) (Koya ministry)

United Democratic Front (1979 – present)

The second-longest serving chief minister of Kerala, K. Karunakaran, was the founder of United Democratic Front

The United Democratic Front (UDF) was formed just before 1980 assembly election. In elections, the Front was defeated by the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front. However, the fall of the first Left Democratic Front ministry resulted in the 6th President's Rule in Kerala (1981).

United Democratic Front first came into power in Kerala in 1981 under K. Karunakaran. ^[8] It led the Government of Kerala in 1982–87 (K. Karunakaran), 1991–96 (K. Karunakaran and A. K. Antony), 2001–06 (A. K. Antony and Oommen Chandy), and 2011–16 (Oommen Chandy). The alliance currently serves as the opposition in the Kerala Assembly.

• In the 2016 elections conducted to the Kerala state legislature, United Democratic Front managed to win 47 out of 140 seats to the assembly, ^[14] and Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala was chosen as the Leader of Opposition. ^[15] In 2019 Indian general election, the alliance won 19 out of 20 seats in the state.
• In the last elections conducted to the Kerala state legislature in 2021, United Democratic Front managed to win 40 out of 140 seats to the assembly, and Congress leader V. D. Satheesan chosen as the Leader of Opposition. ^{[16] [17]} The alliance supported K. K. Rema for Vadakara Constituency who sits as a separate block. ^[18]

Chief Ministers

Pre-United Democratic Front Chief Ministers (1956 – 1979)

• Pattom Thanu Pillai (1960–62)
• R. Sankar (1962 – 64)
• C. Achutha Menon (1970–77)
• K. Karunakaran (1977)
• A. K. Antony (1977 – 78)
• P.K. Vasudevan Nair (1978–79)
• C.H. Mohammed Koya (1979)

United Democratic Front Chief Ministers (1981 – present)

United Democratic Front Chief Ministers

• 
  K. Karunakaran (1981 – 82, 1982 – 1987, 1991 – 95)
• 
  A. K. Antony (1995 – 96, 2001 – 04)
• 
  Oommen Chandy (2004 – 06, 2011 – 16)

List of United Democratic Front Chief Ministers by length of term

United Democratic Front ministry in 1983 (3rd Karunakaran ministry, 1982 - 87)

United Democratic Front ministry in 1991 (4th Karunakaran ministry, 1991 - 95)

No.	Name (Ministry)	Length of term [19]
		Longest continuous term	Total years of premiership
1	K. Karunakaran (1918 - 2010) 1st Karunakaran ministry (1977) 2nd Karunakaran ministry (1981 - 82) 3rd Karunakaran ministry (1982 - 87) 4th Karunakaran ministry (1991 - 95)	4 years, 305 days (1982–87)	8 years, 315 days (four terms)
2	A. K. Antony (born 1940) 1st Antony ministry (1977 - 78) 2nd Antony ministry (1995 - 96) 3rd Antony ministry (2001 - 04)	3 years, 74 days (2001–04)	5 years, 306 days (three terms)
3	Oommen Chandy (born 1943) 1st Chandy ministry (2004 - 06) 2nd Chandy ministry (2011 - 16)	5 years, 6 days (2011–16)	6 years, 256 days (two terms)

Leaders of Opposition (U. D. F)

• K. Karunakaran (1980–81, 87 - 91)
• A. K. Antony (1996 - 2001)
• Oommen Chandy (2006–11)
• Ramesh Chennithala (2016–21)
• V. D. Satheesan (2021–present)

United Democratic Front Conveners

P. J. Joseph served as the first United Democratic Front Convener (1980–82)

Period	U D F Convener	Political affiliation
1979–80	Nil
1980–82	P. J. Joseph	Kerala Congress
1982–85	Oommen Chandy [20]	Indian National Congress
1985–2001	K. Sankaranarayanan [21]
2001–04	Oommen Chandy [20]
2004–18	P. P. Thankachan [22] [23]
2018–20	Benny Behanan [23] [24]
Incumbent	M. M. Hassan [12]

Legacy

K. Karunakaran

Cochin International Airport

The Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, was established by bifurcating University of Kerala during the period of 3rd Karunakaran ministry (1982 - 87). It was during the second U. D. F. government (Third Karunakaran ministry), that the last two districts of Kerala, namely Pathanamthitta and Kasaragod, were inaugurated, raising the total number of districts in Kerala to fourteen. ^[25] During his third tenure as Chief Minister (1982–87), Karunakaran directly handled the Scheduled Castes Development. ^[25] Kerala State Film Development Corporation was also introduced during the tenure of Karunakaran. ^[25]

Chief Minister Karunakaran was instrumental in several infrastructure projects in Kerala which includes the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi, ^[26] and the Cochin International Airport, both of which were sanctioned during his 1991-95 stint as the Chief Minister. ^[27] Vallarpadam Terminal, which later became the first transshipment terminal in India was other key project coined during the administration of Karunakaran. ^[28] Other major infrastructure projects introduced during the terms of Karunakaran include the Goshree Bridges of Kochi, Guruvayur Railway Line, and Rajiv Gandhi Combined Cycle Power Plant at Kayamkulam. ^[25] The first phase of Kollam Bypass was completed in 1993.^{[ citation needed ]}

A. K. Antony

Antony administration was instrumental in the establishment of Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology at Thiruvananthapuram. ^[29] The InfoPark at Kochi was established in the year 2004. ^[30] It was also under his administration that the Kannur University was created by bifurcating the University of Calicut. The University of Sanskrit was inaugurated in 1994. ^[31] The Indian Institute of Management and the National Institute of Technology at Kozhikode were established in the years 1996 and 2002 respectively. ^[32]

The Akshaya Project was implemented in 2002 to expand digital literacy in Kerala. ^[33] During his tenure as Chief Minister, A. K. Antony introduced the Unemployment Allowance, Festival Allowance for the Kerala state employees. ^[34]

During his tenure as Chief Minister, A. K. Antony introduced the prohibition of arrack in Kerala. ^[34] It was at Chief Minister Antony's behest that the decision to construct the new Kerala Legislature Complex was taken in 1977. ^[34] He also ordered the closure of the Kerala Coca-Cola plant in 2004 due to non-availability of drinking water in the plant area. ^[35]

Oommen Chandy

It was also during tenure of Oommen Chandy that 12 new taluks, 28 new municipalities, and Kannur Municipal Corporation were formed. ^{[36] [37]} It was the largest taluk delimitation in the state of Kerala after 1957. ^{[38] [36]} The Kerala Urban Road Transport Corporation (KURTC) was formed under KSRTC in 2015 to manage affairs related to urban transportation. ^[39]

Oommen Chandy in September 2015

The Chandy ministry established new Government Medical Colleges in Kerala (in 2013, after a gap of 31 years). ^{[40] [41]} The "Karunya Scheme" was implemented in the year 2011–12 for the free treatment of patients with cancer, haemophilia, kidney, and heart diseases. ^{[42] [43]} A number of organ implantation surgeries were done through the "Mruthasanjeevani Project". ^[44] The Second Chandy ministry had also taken the decision to prohibit liquor in Kerala by discouraging bars. ^[45] The number of political killings were relatively low (11) during the period 2011–16 in the state. ^[46]

Rubber subsidy to ensure a minimum price of Rs 150/kg was implemented in 2015. ^[47]

In 2005, Information Technology was made a compulsory subject for the school-level students. ^[48] Victers TV, the children's television channel on EDUSAT for schools, was inaugurated in 2005. ^[49] The National University of Advanced Legal Studies at Kochi was founded in 2005 and the Indian Institute of Technology at Palakkad was established in the year 2015. The universities founded in 2011–16 period include the Malayalam University at Tirur (2012) and Technological University at Thiruvananthapuram (2014). ^{[50] [51] [52]} The National Institute of Visual Science and Arts at Kottayam was inaugurated in January 2016. ^[53] Kerala was declared as the first complete digital state of India on 27 February 2016. ^[54]

The Kerala Public Service Commission filled the vacant posts during 2011–16. ^[55] As many as 167,096 job candidates were appointed, setting a record. ^[55] As many as 46,223 posts were created in the same period. ^[55] The Phase-3 of the Technopark at Thiruvananthapuram was inaugurated in 2014. ^[56] The Taurus Downtown at Technopark was commenced during the period 2011–16. ^[56] The phase-2 of InfoPark, Kochi was inaugurated in May 2015. ^[57] Phase-2 of InfoPark Thrissur was completed during the same period. ^{[58] [59]} The Park Centre of Cybercity at Kozhikode was formally opened by IT Minister P.K. Kunhalikutty on 15 February 2014. ^{[60] [61]} UL Cyberpark at Kozhikode was inaugurated in January 2016. ^[62] Chandy's regime was instrumental in beginning the construction of the Smart City Project. ^[63]

Chandy received the United Nation's Public Service Award for his Mass Contact Programme ("Jana Samparkka Paripadi"). ^{[64] [65]} The government also sanctioned of Unemployment Allowance. ^[20] Social welfare pension amounts and numbers were doubled during the second Chandy ministry. ^{[55] [44]} Old-age pension amounts were also increased. ^[55] Other social welfare measures during Chandy reign include free ration for those who lost their employment. ^[65] Free rice was given to those who did not belong to Above Poverty Line (APL). ^[44] Food kits were distributed to the people during Onam, the Eid, and Christmas. ^[44]

Chandy government constructed more than 400,000 houses for the homeless people in Kerala. ^[65]

Chandy's regime was instrumental in beginning the construction of Kannur Airport, ^{[63] [66]} the Kochi Metro, ^{[63] [67] [66]} and the Vizhinjam Port near Thiruvananthapuram. ^{[63] [66]} The Kochi-Mangalore GAIL pipeline was commissioned by the second Chandy ministry in 2013. ^[68] In 2015, the Cochin Airport became the world's first fully solar powered airport. ^{[69] [70]} During his period, 227 road bridges worth nearly Rs 16 billion were built across Kerala. ^{[71] [44]}

A number of state highways were constructed under Chandy government and the final decision to widen the national highways of the state to 45 m were taken in 2014. ^[72] Several "bypass" roads were also constructed. ^[44]

Kerala Assembly Election results

Vote share in consecutive Kerala Assembly elections
1982			48.25%
1987			43.65%
1991			44.84%
1996			44.84%
2001			49.05%
2006			42.98%
2011			45.83%
2016			38.81%
2021			39.47%

Assembly election results ^[73]

Election	Alliance leader	Seats won	Change in seats	Outcome
1980	K. Karunakaran	46 / 140	New	Opposition, later Government
1982		77 / 140	31	Government
1987	61 / 140	16	Opposition
1991	90 / 140	29	Government
1996	A. K. Antony	59 / 140	31	Opposition
2001	99 / 140	40	Government
2006	Oommen Chandy	42 / 140	57	Opposition
2011		72 / 140	30	Government
2016	47 / 140	25	Opposition
2021	Ramesh Chennithala	41 / 140	6	Opposition

Electoral history

Mandate	Seats secured			Ruling coalition	Majority
	LDF	UDF	Others
1980	93	46	1	LDF	47
1982	63	77	0	UDF	14
1987	78	61	1	LDF	17
1991	48	90	2	UDF	40
1996	80	59	1	LDF	21
2001	40	99	1	UDF	59
2006	98	42	0	LDF	56
2011	68	72	0	UDF	04
2016	91	47	2	LDF	44
2021	99	41	0	LDF	59

Lok Sabha Electoral History

Election	Seats won	Change in seats	Voteshare	Outcome
1980	08 / 20	New	-	Government
1984	18 / 20	+ 10	51.29%	Government
1989	17 / 20	- 01	49.29%	Opposition
1991	16 / 20	- 01	48.59%	Government
1996	10 / 20	- 06	45.75%	Opposition
1998	11 / 20	+ 01	46.08%	Opposition
1999	11 / 20	No Change	46.9%	Opposition
2004	01 / 20	- 10	38.38%	Government
2009	16 / 20	+ 15	47.73%	Government
2014	12 / 20	- 04	41.98%	Opposition
2019	19 / 20	+ 07	47.48%	Opposition
2024	18 / 20	- 01	45.21%	Opposition

List of elected members

State legislature

Map of Kerala showing 2021 state Legislative Assembly election results

The United Democratic Front currently has 41 members in the 140-member Kerala Legislative Assembly. The alliance currently forms the Opposition in the Assembly.

Key

  Indian National Congress (INC)   Indian Union Muslim League (IUML)   Kerala Congress (KEC)   Kerala Congress (Jacob) (KC(J))   Revolutionary Marxist Party of India (RMPI)   Kerala Democratic Party (KDP)

No.	Constituency	Member	Party
Kasaragod district
1	Manjeshwaram	A. K. M. Ashraf	IUML
2	Kasaragod	N. A. Nellikkunnu	IUML
Kannur district
3	Irikkur	Sajeev Joseph	INC
4	Peravoor	Sunny Joseph	INC
Wayanad district
5	Sulthan Bathery	I. C. Balakrishnan	INC
6	Kalpetta	T Siddique	INC
Kozhikode district
7	Koduvally	M. K. Muneer	IUML
8	Vadakara	K. K. Rema	RMPI
Malappuram district
9	Kondotty	T. V. Ibrahim	IUML
10	Eranad	P. K. Basheer	IUML
11	Wandoor	A. P. Anil Kumar	INC
12	Manjeri	U. A. Latheef	IUML
13	Perinthalmanna	Najeeb Kanthapuram	IUML
14	Mankada	Manjalamkuzhi Ali	IUML
15	Malappuram	P. Ubaidulla	IUML
16	Vengara	P. K. Kunhalikutty	IUML
17	Vallikkunnu	P. Abdul Hameed	IUML
18	Tirurangadi	K. P. A. Majeed	IUML
19	Tirur	Kurukkoli Moideen	IUML
20	Kottakkal	K. K. Abid Hussain Thangal	IUML
Palakkad district
21	Mannarkkad	N. Samsudheen	IUML
22	Palakkad	Rahul Mamkootathil	INC
Thrissur district
23	Chalakudy	T. J. Saneesh Kumar Joseph	INC
Ernakulam district
24	Perumbavoor	Eldhose Kunnappilly	INC
25	Angamaly	Roji M. John	INC
26	Aluva	Anwar Sadath	INC
27	Paravur	V. D. Satheesan	INC
28	Thrippunithura	K. Babu	INC
29	Ernakulam	T. J. Vinod	INC
30	Thrikkakara	Uma Thomas	INC
31	Piravom	Anoop Jacob	KC (J)
32	Muvattupuzha	Mathew Kuzhalnadan	INC
Idukki district
33	Thodupuzha	P. J. Joseph	KEC
Kottayam district
34	Pala	Mani C. Kappan	Kerala Democratic Party
35	Kaduthuruthy	Monce Joseph	KEC
36	Kottayam	Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan	INC
37	Puthuppally	Chandy Oommen	INC
Alappuzha district
38	Haripad	Ramesh Chennithala	INC
Kollam district
39	Karunagappally	C. R. Mahesh	INC
40	Kundara	P. C. Vishnunadh	INC
Thiruvananthapuram district
41	Kovalam	M. Vincent	INC

Lok Sabha

Out of the 20 Lok Sabha (House of the People) constituencies in Kerala, 18 were won by the United Democratic Front in 2024 Lok Sabha election.

2024 Indian general election

The following is the list of United Democratic Front Lok Sabha members from the state of Kerala:

Key

  INC   IUML   RSP

No.	Parliamentary Constituency	Member (M. P.)	Party Affiliation
1	Kasaragod	Rajmohan Unnithan	INC
2	Kannur	K. Sudhakaran	INC
3	Vatakara	Shafi Parambil	INC
4	Wayanad	Priyanka Gandhi Vadra	INC
5	Kozhikode	M. K. Raghavan	INC
6	Malappuram	E. T. Muhammed Basheer	IUML
7	Ponnani	M.P. Abdussamad Samadani	IUML
8	Palakkad	V. K. Sreekandan	INC
9	Chalakudy	Benny Behanan	INC
10	Ernakulam	Hibi Eden	INC
11	Idukki	Dean Kuriakose	INC
12	Kottayam	K. Francis George	KEC
13	Alappuzha	K. C. Venugopal	INC
14	Mavelikkara	Kodikunnil Suresh	INC
15	Pathanamthitta	Anto Antony Punnathaniyil	INC
16	Kollam	N. K. Premachandran	RSP
17	Attingal	Adoor Prakash	INC
18	Thiruvananthapuram	Shashi Tharoor	INC

Rajya Sabha

The following is the list of United Democratic Front Rajya Sabha members from the state of Kerala:

Key

  INC   IUML

No.	State	Member (M. P.)	Party Affiliation
1	Kerala	Jebi Mather	INC
2		P. V. Abdul Wahab	IUML

See also

• United Front (1970–79)
• Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee
• Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance
• Indian National Congress
• Left Democratic Front
• Indian Union Muslim League

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• Chandran, VP (2018). Mathrubhumi Yearbook Plus – 2019 (Malayalam ed.). Kozhikode: P. V. Chandran, Managing Editor, Mathrubhumi Printing & Publishing Company Limited, Kozhikode.

Further reading

• Chief Ministers, Ministers, and Leaders of Opposition of Kerala (PDF), Thiruvananthapuram: Secratriat of Kerala Legislature, 2018