The nine-day Keralam Assembly session opens on October 12, 2026, amid intense political heat. The government faces protests over power cuts and medicine shortages. Meanwhile, the Opposition targets the ruling front following a High Court order against Pinarayi Vijayan. Lawmakers also plan to discuss new bills for elderly citizens.

New session begins against the backdrop of protests in Delhi seeking removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar and the Kerala High Court order on registering an FIR against Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan in the CMRL-Exalogic pay-off case

The new session of the Keralam Legislative Assembly will open on Monday (October 12, 2026) against the backdrop of the protests in Delhi seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and Friday's High Court order on registering an FIR against Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan in the CMRL-Exalogic pay-off case.

The nine-day second session of the 16th Assembly is meant for legislative business, but it is likely to be a stormy one as well given the heat faced by the United Democratic Front (UDF) government over power cuts, Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan's 'sponsored' flight charter and the alleged shortage of medicines in government hospitals.

One highlight of the session is sure to be the resolution that the government plans to move seeking the return of the Kerala State Private Universities (Establishment and Regulation) Bill, 2025, from the President for the House's reconsideration. The UDF government is not keen on the Bill that was originally passed during the Left Democratic Front (LDF) rule and referred to the President by the Governor.

Legal guarantees

Another high point will be the Bill cleared by the Cabinet on Friday promising legal guarantees to Keralam's elderly citizens. Stating the government's intention to introduce it in the upcoming session, Mr. Satheesan had already described it as "revolutionary" and a "model legislation."

In September, Environment Minister Sunny Joseph had said that the UDF government intended to get a resolution seeking the restriction of Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) to forest areas passed in the State Legislative Assembly when it convened next.

The CMRL-Exalogic pay-off case is expected to figure prominently in the debates with the High Court directing that an FIR be registered against Mr. Vijayan, his daughter T. Veena and son-in-law P.A. Mohamed Riyas, MLA.

Power cuts

On its part, the Opposition LDF is expected to target the government over the unprecedented monsoon season power cuts that had drawn widespread public criticism. At the time of filing this report, the power scenario is scarcely back to normal, although the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) has succeeded in tying up emergency supplies from across the country.

The Opposition is also likely to target Mr. Satheesan over his staunch defence of his chartered flight to visit disaster-struck areas in Malappuram district and his reluctance to divulge the name of the private individual who sponsored it.

Nationwide protests

The House will be in session at a time when the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll is in the news and protests have spread nationwide demanding the CEC's removal.

In Keralam, the final voters list prepared by the Election Commission of India (ECI) post-SIR had 8.97 lakh voters less compared to the voter roll as it stood in October 2025. Mr. Satheesan, at a post-Cabinet press briefing on Friday, had maintained that no complaints emerged from Keralam regarding a deliberate denial of the voting right.

Vigilance case

On a related front, the UDF government had reopened a two-decade-old vigilance case against CEC Mr. Kumar, a former Keralam cadre IAS officer, in connection with the suicide of a Malaysian engineer.

For the upcoming session, the Assembly will meet for nine days from October 12 to October 29, with breaks in-between. According to Speaker Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, the approved schedule has two Bills for the House's consideration -- the Kerala Court Fees and Suits Valuation (Amendment) Bill, 2026, and the Madras Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (Amendment) Bill, 2026.

Further legislative business is expected to be finalised by the House's Business Advisory Committee, which meets on Monday. The House will also discuss and vote on the supplementary demands for grants for 2026-2027 and the demands for excess grants for 2016-2017, 2017-2018, 2018-2019, 2020-2021 and 2021-2022.