Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] State secretary M.V. Govindan did not rule out Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan heading a prospective third consecutive Left Democratic Front (LDF) government after the 2026 Assembly elections. 

Speaking to newspersons at the AKG Centre, Mr. Govindan said the CPI(M)  had consented to waive the two-term limit for party members holding high public office. 

“The exception for Mr. Vijayan has been the case. It is not anything new. Mr. Vijayan heads the only CPI(M) government in the country. He led the LDF to a second consecutive victory in 2021. However, the LDF does not follow the practice of announcing its Chief Minister candidate before the polls. The party fights elections based on the LDF’s welfare and development manifesto,” he said. 

CPI(M)‘s vision

He said Mr. Vijayan would present the CPI(M)‘s vision for a modern Kerala at the party’s State conference in Kollam in March. The vision statement would inform the LDF’s policy declaration for the State’s development ahead of the 2026 Assembly campaign. 

Mr. Govindan said the very nihilistic forces opposed to Kerala’s development had instigated a section of the ASHAs to protest against the government.

He blamed the Socialist Unity Centre of India, Social Democratic Party of India, and Jamaat-e-Islami for causing disaffection among a section of ASHAs. “The very forces had tried to resist the GAIL pipeline project and acquisition of land in north Kerala for the National Highway development. Their anarchist bid to retard the State’s development failed,” he added. 

Mr. Govindan said the CPI(M) was not against ASHAs. Since coming to power in 2016, the LDF has increased theirhonorarium by ₹1,000 annually. The government has not defaulted on paying ASHAs despite the Union government cutting back on its allocation for a National Health Mission programme.