Kerala Polls 2021: Decoding UDF Vs LDF battle & BJP’s ‘will be kingmaker' claim

• Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is looking to buck anti-incumbency in the upcoming assembly elections in Kerala. Vijayan is looking to retain the throne for the second time in a state where voters have opted for the LDF and the UDF in alternate elections. While opposition parties have raised the gold smuggling case to corner the Chief Minister, Vijayan seems to be ahead in the perception battle. Meanwhile, the BJP is also looking to make inroads into the state and has received a boost with ‘Metro Man’ E Sreedharan joining the party. But will his claim of BJP emerging as kingmaker come true? Or will Kerala elections remain a battle between the prominent alliances? Hindustan Times’ editor-in-chief Sukumar Ranganathan explains all that there is to know about the upcoming polls in Kerala.