page_title: Politics of Kerala
section_title: Leftist inclination
hierarchical_section_title: Politics of Kerala / Leftist inclination
caption_attribution_description: English: CPI M POLIT BEUREU MEMBER PINARAYI VIJAYAN AT KOLLAM
context_page_description: Political activity in the Indian State of Kerala takes place in a multi-party framework, within the overall context of the National Politics of India. The state holds an invariable position of having the largest politically aware and active population in the Country. The state Legislature is unicameral and has a membership of 141, where 140 are elected and one is nominated from the Anglo-Indian community. It has 20 seats in the Lok Sabha and 9 seats in the Rajya Sabha. Elections are also held to choose representatives to the civic bodies at various levels within the State, and the state has consistently come out with a voter turnout of 70% or above in almost all elections which have ever been held.
context_section_description: The social thought and behavior of the State in general has a strong inclination towards Leftism and thus the Communist parties have made strong inroads in Kerala. The Malabar region, particularly Kannur and Palakkad are considered to be the heartland for Communist support. The Kollam and Alapuzha districts, where trade unions have very strong presence, are generally inclined towards the Left parties; though  the UDF have won elections from the constituencies of these districts several times. The largest Communist party in terms of membership is CPI (M) and the second is CPI. Kerala was the first Indian state where the communists were voted to power. Indian National Congress also has a very strong presence in Kerala. The party has strong bases in Ernakulam and Kottayam regions.
caption: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is a communist leader
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