United Democratic Front ഐക്യ ജനാധിപത്യ മുന്നണി | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | UDF |
| Leader | |
| Chairman | V. D. Satheesan |
| Rajya Sabha Leader | Jebi Mather |
| Lok Sabha Leader | Priyanka Gandhi |
| Founders | K. Karunakaran |
| Founded | 1979; 47 years ago (1979) |
| Headquarters | Indira Bhavan,Vellayambalam,Thiruvananthapuram District,Kerala |
| Student wing | The United Democratic Students' Front |
| Membership(2024) |  8,935,209 |
| Political position | Centre-left tocentre-right[a][citation needed] |
| National affiliation | Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance |
| Colours | Blue |
| Rajya Sabha | 3 / 9 |
| Lok Sabha | 18 / 20 |
| Kerala Legislative Assembly | 41 / 140 |
| Gram Panchayats | 505 / 941 |
| Block Panchayats | 79 / 152 |
| District Panchayats | 7 / 14 |
| Municipalities | 54 / 87 |
| Municipal Corporation | 4 / 6 |
| Website | |
| udf | |
TheUnited Democratic Front (UDF) is theIndian National Congress-led alliance ofcentre-left tocentre-right political parties in the Indian state ofKerala.[1][citation needed] It is one of the two major political alliances in Kerala, the other beingCommunist Party of India (Marxist)-ledLeft Democratic Front, each of which has been in power alternately since the1980 E. K. Nayanar ministry until the2016 Legislative Assembly election in the state.[2] The alliance currently acts as the opposition in thestate legislature of Kerala. Most of the United Democratic Front constituents are members of theIndian National Congress-ledIndian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance at pan-India level.
United Democratic Front was created by theIndian National Congress (then known asCongress-Indira) party leaderK. Karunakaran in 1979, as a successor to the existing Congress-led alliance.[3] The alliance first came to power in 1981 (K. Karunakaran ministry) and has won elections to thestate legislature of Kerala in the years1982 (Karunakaranministry),[4]1991 (Karunakaran andA. K. Antony ministries),[5]2001 (Antony andOommen Chandy ministries),[6] and2011 (Oommen Chandy ministry).[7] United Democratic Front leadersV. D. Satheesan andK. Sudhakaran currently serve as theLeader of the Opposition andKerala Pradesh Congress Committee President respectively.[8]
The alliance currently consists ofIndian National Congress,Indian Union Muslim League,Kerala Congress (Joseph),Kerala Congress (Jacob),Revolutionary Socialist Party and a variety of other smaller parties. The alliance followsbig tent policy and includes a variety political parties.[9]
| Party | Abbr. | Flag | MPs in Lok Sabha | MPs in Rajya Sabha | MLA in state legislature | Kerala leader | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Indian National Congress | INC |  | 14 | 01 | 20 | Sunny Joseph |
| 2 | Indian Union Muslim League | IUML |  | 03 | 02 | 15 | P. K. Kunhalikutty |
| 3 | Kerala Congress | KEC |  | 01 | 00 | 02 | P. J. Joseph |
| 4 | Revolutionary Socialist Party | RSP |  | 01 | 00 | 00 | Shibu Baby John |
| 5 | Kerala Congress (Jacob) | KEC(J) | | 00 | 00 | 01 | Anoop Jacob |
| 6 | Kerala Democratic Party | KDP |  | 00 | 00 | 01 | Mani C. Kappan |
| 7 | Communist Marxist Party | CMP |  | 00 | 00 | 00 | C. P. John |
| 8 | All India Forward Bloc | AIFB | 00 | 00 | 00 | T. Manoj Kumar | |
| 9 | Janathipathiya Samrakshana Samithy | JSS |  | 00 | 00 | 00 | A. N. Rajan Babu |
Precursors to the United Democratic Front were,
.jpg)
The United Democratic Front (UDF) was formed just before1980 assembly election. In elections, the Front was defeated by theCommunist Party of India (Marxist)-ledLeft Democratic Front. However, the fall of the firstLeft Democratic Front ministry resulted in the 6thPresident's Rule in Kerala (1981).
United Democratic Front first came into power in Kerala in 1981 underK. Karunakaran.[4] It led theGovernment of Kerala in 1982–87 (K. Karunakaran), 1991–96 (K. Karunakaran andA. K. Antony), 2001–06 (A. K. Antony andOommen Chandy), and 2011–16 (Oommen Chandy). The alliance currently serves as the opposition in theKerala Assembly.
| No. | Name (Ministry) | Length of term[18] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Longest continuous term | Total years of premiership | ||
| 1 | K. Karunakaran (1918 - 2010) | 4 years, 305 days (1982–87) | 8 years, 315 days (four terms) |
| 2 | A. K. Antony (born 1940) | 3 years, 74 days (2001–04) | 5 years, 306 days (three terms) |
| 3 | Oommen Chandy (born 1943) | 5 years, 6 days (2011–16) | 6 years, 256 days (two terms) |
.jpg)
| Period | U D F Convener | Political affiliation |
|---|---|---|
| 1979–80 | Nil | |
| 1980–82 | P. J. Joseph | Kerala Congress |
| 1982–85 | Oommen Chandy[19] | Indian National Congress |
| 1985–2001 | K. Sankaranarayanan[20] | |
| 2001–04 | Oommen Chandy[19] | |
| 2004–18 | P. P. Thankachan[21][22] | |
| 2018–20 | Benny Behanan[22][23] | |
| 2020-25 | M. M. Hassan[8] | |
| 2025-incumbent | Adoor Prakash | |
TheMahatma Gandhi University,Kottayam, was established by bifurcatingUniversity of Kerala during the period of3rd Karunakaran ministry (1982 - 87). It was during the second U. D. F. government (Third Karunakaran ministry), that the last two districts of Kerala, namelyPathanamthitta andKasaragod, were inaugurated, raising the total number of districts in Kerala to fourteen.[24] During his third tenure as Chief Minister (1982–87), Karunakaran directly handled theScheduled Castes Development.[24]Kerala State Film Development Corporation was also introduced during the tenure of Karunakaran.[24]
Chief Minister Karunakaran was instrumental in several infrastructure projects in Kerala which includes theJawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi,[25] and theCochin International Airport, both of which were sanctioned during his 1991-95 stint as the Chief Minister.[26]Vallarpadam Terminal, which later became the first transshipment terminal in India was other key project coined during the administration of Karunakaran.[27] Other major infrastructure projects introduced during the terms of Karunakaran include theGoshree Bridges ofKochi,Guruvayur Railway Line, andRajiv Gandhi Combined Cycle Power Plant atKayamkulam.[24] The first phase ofKollam Bypass was completed in 1993.[citation needed]
Antony administration was instrumental in the establishment ofRajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology atThiruvananthapuram.[28] TheInfoPark atKochi was established in the year 2004.[29] It was also under his administration that theKannur University was created by bifurcating theUniversity of Calicut. TheUniversity of Sanskrit was inaugurated in 1994.[30] TheIndian Institute of Management and theNational Institute of Technology atKozhikode were established in the years 1996 and 2002 respectively.[31]
TheAkshaya Project was implemented in 2002 to expanddigital literacy in Kerala.[32] During his tenure as Chief Minister,A. K. Antony introduced theUnemployment Allowance, Festival Allowance for the Kerala state employees.[33]
During his tenure as Chief Minister,A. K. Antony introduced the prohibition ofarrack in Kerala.[33] It was at Chief Minister Antony's behest that the decision to construct thenew Kerala Legislature Complex was taken in 1977.[33] He also ordered theclosure of the Kerala Coca-Cola plant in 2004 due to non-availability of drinking water in the plant area.[34]
It was also during tenure of Oommen Chandy that 12 newtaluks, 28 newmunicipalities, andKannur Municipal Corporation were formed.[35][36] It was the largesttaluk delimitation in the state of Kerala after 1957.[37][35] TheKerala Urban Road Transport Corporation (KURTC) was formed under KSRTC in 2015 to manage affairs related to urban transportation.[38]
The Chandy ministry established new Government Medical Colleges in Kerala (in 2013, after a gap of 31 years).[39][40] The "Karunya Scheme" was implemented in the year 2011–12 for the free treatment of patients with cancer,haemophilia,kidney, andheart diseases.[41][42] A number of organ implantation surgeries were done through the "Mruthasanjeevani Project".[43] TheSecond Chandy ministry had also taken the decision to prohibitliquor in Kerala by discouraging bars.[44] The number of political killings were relatively low (11) during the period 2011–16 in the state.[45]
Rubbersubsidy to ensure a minimum price of Rs 150/kg was implemented in 2015.[46]
In 2005, Information Technology was made a compulsory subject for the school-level students.[47]Victers TV, the children's television channel onEDUSAT for schools, was inaugurated in 2005.[48] TheNational University of Advanced Legal Studies atKochi was founded in 2005 and theIndian Institute of Technology atPalakkad was established in the year 2015. The universities founded in 2011–16 period include theMalayalam University atTirur (2012) andTechnological University atThiruvananthapuram (2014).[49][50][51] TheNational Institute of Visual Science and Arts atKottayam was inaugurated in January 2016.[52] Kerala was declared as the first complete digital state of India on 27 February 2016.[53]
TheKerala Public Service Commission filled the vacant posts during 2011–16.[54] As many as 167,096 job candidates were appointed, setting a record.[54] As many as 46,223 posts were created in the same period.[54] The Phase-3 of theTechnopark atThiruvananthapuram was inaugurated in 2014.[55] The Taurus Downtown at Technopark was commenced during the period 2011–16.[55] The phase-2 ofInfoPark, Kochi was inaugurated in May 2015.[56] Phase-2 ofInfoPark Thrissur was completed during the same period.[57][58] The Park Centre ofCybercity atKozhikode was formally opened by IT MinisterP.K. Kunhalikutty on 15 February 2014.[59][60] UL Cyberpark atKozhikode was inaugurated in January 2016.[61] Chandy's regime was instrumental in beginning the construction of theSmart City Project.[62]
Chandy received the United Nation's Public Service Award for his Mass Contact Programme ("Jana Samparkka Paripadi").[63][64] The government also sanctioned ofUnemployment Allowance.[19] Social welfare pension amounts and numbers were doubled during thesecond Chandy ministry.[54][43] Old-age pension amounts were also increased.[54] Other social welfare measures during Chandy reign include free ration for those who lost their employment.[64] Free rice was given to those who did not belong toAbove Poverty Line (APL).[43] Food kits were distributed to the people duringOnam, the Eid, and Christmas.[43]
Chandy government constructed more than 400,000 houses for the homeless people in Kerala.[64]
Chandy's regime was instrumental in beginning the construction ofKannur Airport,[62][65] theKochi Metro,[62][66][65] and theVizhinjam Port nearThiruvananthapuram.[62][65] TheKochi-MangaloreGAIL pipeline was commissioned by thesecond Chandy ministry in 2013.[67] In 2015, theCochin Airport became the world's first fullysolar powered airport.[68][69] During his period, 227 road bridges worth nearly Rs 16 billion were built acrossKerala.[70][43]
A number ofstate highways were constructed under Chandy government and the final decision to widen thenational highways of the state to 45 m were taken in 2014.[71] Several "bypass" roads were also constructed.[43]
| 1982 | 48.25% | |||
| 1987 | 43.65% | |||
| 1991 | 44.84% | |||
| 1996 | 44.84% | |||
| 2001 | 49.05% | |||
| 2006 | 42.98% | |||
| 2011 | 45.83% | |||
| 2016 | 38.81% | |||
| 2021 | 39.47% | |||
| Election | Alliance leader | Seats won | Change in seats | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | K. Karunakaran | 46 / 140 | New | Opposition, later Government |
| 1982 | 77 / 140 | 31 | Government | |
| 1987 | 61 / 140 |  16 | Opposition | |
| 1991 | 90 / 140 | 29 | Government | |
| 1996 | A. K. Antony | 59 / 140 | 31 | Opposition |
| 2001 | 99 / 140 | 40 | Government | |
| 2006 | Oommen Chandy | 42 / 140 | 57 | Opposition |
| 2011 | 72 / 140 | 30 | Government | |
| 2016 | 47 / 140 | 25 | Opposition | |
| 2021 | Ramesh Chennithala | 41 / 140 | 6 | Opposition |
| Mandate | Seats secured | Ruling coalition | Majority | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LDF | UDF | Others | |||
| 1980 | 93 | 46 | 1 | LDF | 47 |
| 1982 | 63 | 77 | 0 | UDF | 14 |
| 1987 | 78 | 61 | 1 | LDF | 17 |
| 1991 | 48 | 90 | 2 | UDF | 40 |
| 1996 | 80 | 59 | 1 | LDF | 21 |
| 2001 | 40 | 99 | 1 | UDF | 59 |
| 2006 | 98 | 42 | 0 | LDF | 56 |
| 2011 | 68 | 72 | 0 | UDF | 04 |
| 2016 | 91 | 47 | 2 | LDF | 44 |
| 2021 | 99 | 41 | 0 | LDF | 59 |
| Election | Seats won | Change in seats | Voteshare | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 08 / 20 | New |  | Government |
| 1984 | 18 / 20 | 10 | 51.29% | Government |
| 1989 | 17 / 20 | 1 | 49.29% | Opposition |
| 1991 | 16 / 20 | 1 | 48.59% | Government |
| 1996 | 10 / 20 | 6 | 45.75% | Opposition |
| 1998 | 11 / 20 | 1 | 46.08% | Opposition |
| 1999 | 11 / 20 | | 46.9% | Opposition |
| 2004 | 01 / 20 | 10 | 38.38% | Government |
| 2009 | 16 / 20 | 15 | 47.73% | Government |
| 2014 | 12 / 20 | 4 | 41.98% | Opposition |
| 2019 | 19 / 20 | 7 | 47.48% | Opposition |
| 2024 | 18 / 20 | 01 | 45.21% | Opposition |
The United Democratic Front currently has 41 members in the 140-memberKeralaLegislative Assembly. The alliance currently forms the Opposition in theAssembly.
Key
Indian National Congress (INC) Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) Kerala Congress (KEC) Kerala Congress (Jacob) (KC(J)) Revolutionary Marxist Party of India (RMPI) Kerala Democratic Party (KDP)
Out of the 20Lok Sabha (House of the People) constituencies in Kerala, 18 were won by the United Democratic Front in2024 Lok Sabha election.
The following is the list of United Democratic Front Lok Sabha members from the state of Kerala:
Key
The following is the list of United Democratic Front Rajya Sabha members from the state of Kerala:
Key
| No. | State | Member (M. P.) | Party affiliation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kerala | Jebi Mather | INC |
| 2 | P. V. Abdul Wahab | IUML |
The BJP's primary rival, the centrist Indian National Congress (Congress), won only 52 seats.
| History | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Government Politics | |||||||||||||
| Incidents | |||||||||||||
| Geography | |||||||||||||
| Demographics Economy Religion | |||||||||||||
| Culture |
| ||||||||||||
| Tourism |
| ||||||||||||
| Administrative divisions | |||||||||||||
| Local governance | |||||||||||||
