Kerala’s mainstream political parties, notably the Congress and the BJP, will be keenly scrutinising the Assembly poll results from neighbouring Karnataka, holding their breath for a potential resurgence in the State.
However, the results on Saturday not only will reverberate beyond the Congress and the BJP, but it will also influence the ruling Left parties and their allies, the Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) and the Janata Dal (Secular) [JD(S)] whose proposed merger hangs in the balance.
A clear majority for the Congress, dislodging the ruling BJP in the political sweepstakes, would be a psychological booster for the party in Kerala which has faced successive defeats in the Assembly polls held in 2016 and 2021.