As the counting of votes in the 2026 Kerala election continued on Monday, Shashi Tharoor (a Congress MP) moved the conversation away from just looking at the numbers to what will happen as a result, and insisted on a big change in how Kerala is run. He described the election as a decision about work, investment, and the state’s money situation, and indicated the Left’s last place in power may be in danger.
Tharoor believes the discussion shouldn’t be about specific people or groups within parties. He says the next government will be assessed on its ability to make the economy grow again and to stop young people from leaving the state.
Policy shift and economic stakes
Tharoor outlined his top priorities, saying simply winning seats isn’t enough. “I think we have plenty of people who could win at this point. Now it’s important that the government changes, that policies change and that Kerala recovers,” he said.
He also added that his main ideas are about fixing and rebuilding things. “My main point will definitely be progress, totally fixing the terrible financial situation, doing the necessary work to make Kerala a place where people want to invest again, so we can grow, create work for our citizens, and stop our young people leaving the state because they feel they have no future…”
Left’s last bastion under threat
The day before, Tharoor connected the outcome in Kerala to a big event in national politics. “I’d say the most important result coming from this, starting tomorrow, will be that for the first time the LDF (Left Democratic Front) won’t be in power in any state in the country,” he explained.
He gave some background to this. After losing in West Bengal in 2011 and Tripura in 2018, Kerala was the only state the Left controlled. “When they lost Kerala and Bengal in 2011, they still had Tripura. This time, they will have nowhere. That’s a really important thing for our country.”
Exit polls converge, expectations set
Tharoor warned against putting too much faith in opinion polls, but noted that this time they all seemed to say the same thing. “Exit polls in our country have many issues. I don’t want to rely on them too much, but they’ve all agreed with each other, which is surprising. They all come to the same conclusion.”
He said this agreement isn’t just with the pollsters. “All the experts, the reporters, the people watching, and political commentators from different parties that I’ve spoken to since April 4th, all agree that the UDF (United Democratic Front) will win.” He also said, “I expect that by mid-morning it will be very obvious and certain that we have won.”
If UDF wins, priorities Tharoor outlines
Tharoor thinks a win for the Congress-led alliance will be seen as the public asking for the economy to get back on track. He says the next government will be immediately tested by how much it makes it easier to invest in the state and create jobs.
Here is how he framed the immediate agenda:
– Reset the state’s fiscal position decisively
– Make Kerala a credible haven for investment
– Generate jobs at scale for young people
– Stem youth migration by expanding opportunities
Kerala’s cycle and the 2021 exception
In Kerala, power has typically moved between the Left Democratic Front and the Congress-led United Democratic Front every five years. In 2021, this pattern was broken when the LDF won two terms in a row, going against the usual trend of people voting against the current government.
The results are still being counted, and will show if Kerala will return to this regular change of power, or if a more lasting shift is taking place. But for Tharoor, the important question is already decided: can a new government turn the election result into real improvements for Kerala?
