Kerala Polls: Pilot, Tharoor confident of ousting LDF, cite failures

Congress leaders Sachin Pilot and Shashi Tharoor express confidence in the UDF winning the 2026 Kerala Assembly polls. They asserted the LDF will be voted out and criticised the incumbent government's fiscal management and development model.

UDF poised for full majority, says Sachin Pilot

Ahead of the Kerala Assembly Elections 2026, Congress leader Sachin Pilot expressed confidence that the Left Democratic Front (LDF) will be voted out, asserting that the Congress and United Democratic Front (UDF) are poised to secure a full majority with public support. Speaking to ANI, Pilot said,"I am here to make sure that the organisation is fully geared up for the upcoming elections. The Congress party and the UDF have lived up to people's expectations as an opposition, and the time has come for the LDF to go. We are here to serve the people, and the Congress party is absolutely certain that we will get a complete majority with the blessings of the people of Kerala..."

'Change of government indispensable': Shashi Tharoor

On Sunday, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor asserted that a change of government in Kerala is "absolutely indispensable", sharply criticising the CPI(M)-led LDF government's economic management and expressing confidence that the Congress-led UDF can offer a credible alternative ahead of the Assembly elections. Speaking to ANI, Tharoor said, "I think it's absolutely indispensable that there should be a change of government. The Left has been ruling for 10 years now, and they just proposed a budget a couple of days ago, which was completely based on funds they don't have, and funds that the Centre is not willing to give them."

He said Kerala voters are "being squeezed between an unsupportive Centre and fiscal irresponsibility at the state level."

"So, between a Centre that is indifferent to Kerala and the state that is committing fiscal profligacy, clearly, the innocent Kerala voter is caught in a trap," Tharoor said. Criticising the current development trajectory, he remarked, "The Kerala growth model has been replaced by the Kerala debt model."

Emphasising the need for a new approach, Tharoor said, "We need to find new sources of revenue through the ease of doing business. We have to have a new vision for Kerala."

The Kerala Assembly Elections 2026 are expected to take place between April and May.

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