NDA wins Munambam: How a Waqf land dispute reshaped politics in Kerala’s coastal ward

The NDA's victory in this coastal ward marks a rare breakthrough for the alliance in Kerala, a state where it has struggled to convert visibility into electoral success.

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), on Saturday, secured a politically significant victory in the Munambam ward of Kerala’s Ernakulam district, a coastal constituency that has been at the centre of a prolonged and emotive land dispute involving the Kerala Waqf Board.

Munambam has been in the spotlight since 2019, when the Kerala Waqf Board notified nearly 404 acres of land in Munambam and nearby Cherai as Waqf property. The move had quickly triggered widespread fear of eviction among more than 500 families, most of them from the Latin Catholic fishing community, who claim they have lived on and legally owned the land for generations.

Residents, reportedly, maintain that they possess registered title deeds, revenue records and proof of land tax payments made over decades.

After the Waqf notification, however, the state stopped accepting land tax from the families, intensifying uncertainty over their ownership and livelihood.

The dispute soon spiralled into continued protest demonstrations, sit-ins and legal battles, drawing statewide and national attention.

Under the banner of the Munambam Land Protection Council, affected families staged demonstrations for more than 400 days, turning the issue into a major political flashpoint across legal, livelihood and religious lines.

In fact, the controversy also figured prominently in debates in Parliament and the Kerala Assembly, particularly after the Centre introduced the legislation aimed at strengthening oversight of waqf properties.

Early this October, the Kerala High Court ruled that the Munambam land could not have been classified as Waqf property, calling the move a “land-grabbing tactic” and holding that mandatory procedures under the Waqf Acts had not been followed. The judgment provided a major morale boost to protesters, many of whom had earlier considered boycotting the local body polls before deciding to participate.

The legal battle, nevertheless, remains unresolved.

Last week, on December 12, the Supreme Court stayed the High Court’s declaration that the land was not Waqf property and ordered status quo, while allowing a state-appointed inquiry commission to continue its work. The top court also questioned whether the High Court had exceeded its jurisdiction by ruling on issues pending before the Waqf Tribunal.

In the meantime, the NDA’s victory in Munambam is being seen as far more than a routine ward-level result. It marks a rare breakthrough for the alliance in Kerala, a state where it has struggled to convert visibility into electoral success.

During the campaign, the BJP had openly backed the protesters, projecting itself as a defender of land and property rights.

Notably, the issue appears to have altered traditional voting patterns, with sections of voters earlier aligned with the Congress and the Left reportedly eventually shifting towards the NDA. The alliance wrested the ward from the Congress, which previously held the seat through councillor Jesna Sanal.

Munambam has around 1,780 voters.

Rival political fronts have, meanwhile, disputed the NDA’s narrative.

CPI(M) leader Rocky Binoy Kurishinkal, the LDF candidate, said the Left and the state government had consistently stood with the residents and taken steps to address their concerns. The UDF’s Dani Kottaparambil said the Congress was among the first parties to support the agitation and had continued to raise the issue at multiple levels.

Despite these claims, the Munambam result is being viewed as a symbolic shift in a politically sensitive ward and a morale boost for the BJP ahead of the 2026 Kerala Assembly elections.