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Kerala Survey Shows Rising Anti-Incumbency, Tharoor Leads UDF Preferences

Strong voter discontent combines with a lack of clear leadership in Kerala’s two dominant alliances ahead of the 2026 assembly elections.

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Shashi Tharoor as chief minister? MP shares survey naming him top pick in Kerala
File photo of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor | Suraj Singh Bisht | ThePrint

Overview

  • The VoteVibe survey finds that 47.9% of respondents express strong anti-incumbency against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
  • Shashi Tharoor tops the UDF’s chief ministerial preference with 28.3% support while 27.1% of UDF voters remain undecided.
  • Within the ruling LDF, K.K. Shailaja leads leadership preferences at 24.2% compared with Pinarayi Vijayan’s 17.5% and a 41.5% undecided rate.
  • A majority of voters (62%) want to replace their current MLA, split between a new candidate from the same party (28%) and switching to a different party (34%).
  • Trust in governance and development favors the UDF at 38.9%, over the LDF at 27.8% and the BJP-led NDA at 23.1%.