South Central turns to Kerala this week: will Pinarayi Vijayan make a comeback, or can the United Democratic Front cash in on anti-incumbency? Hosts Dhanya Rajendran and Pooja Prasanna are joined by senior journalists MG Radhakrishnan and Sreejan Balakrishnan, along with TNM’s Kerala bureau chief Haritha John, to unpack the trends shaping the election.
While there is broad agreement that the UDF has a slight natural edge this time, the panel notes the absence of any clear wave, either for or against Pinarayi. Both MGR and Sreejan point to how the LDF campaign continues to be built around Pinarayi’s image: in a political moment where decisive, even authoritarian leaders are increasingly valorised, Pinarayi is positioned as no exception.
