The Opposition has accused the Nava Kerala Citizens Response Programme, a ₹20 crore door-to-door survey, and the Chief Minister’s Mega Quiz, running in parallel, of being little more than thinly veiled election campaigns.
Published Jan 14, 2026 | 10:27 AM ⚊ Updated Jan 14, 2026 | 10:27 AM
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Synopsis: The ruling CPI(M)-led LDF in Kerala has been accused of launching two thinly veiled election campaigns in the form of state-sponsored programmes, using public funds and government machinery just months ahead of the Assembly elections. The Nava Kerala Citizens Response Programme, a ₹20 crore door-to-door survey, and the Chief Minister’s Mega Quiz, running in parallel, have triggered controversy over the CPI(M)’s alleged involvement in the former and accusations of a disproportionate focus on the government’s achievements in the latter.
The Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala has found itself at the centre of an unusual political controversy as the Assembly election season draws near.
The opposition has accused two ongoing state-sponsored initiatives of being little more than thinly veiled election campaigns for the CPI(M)-led Left coalition. The initiatives in question are the Nava Kerala Citizens Response Programme and the Chief Minister’s Mega Quiz.
The former is a participatory, door-to-door survey being conducted at a cost of ₹20 crore. It is intended to gather public feedback on development priorities and welfare delivery, and to help shape Kerala’s roadmap to 2031.
The latter is a high-profile competition for school and college students, organised by the Information and Public Relations Department, complete with glossy publications, hefty cash prizes, and questions highlighting Kerala’s social progress.
But, reports that CPI(M) cadres are being mobilised as “volunteers” for the survey, along with allegations that the quiz disproportionately focuses on the achievements of the Chief Minister and his government, have raised questions about the true intent behind the programmes.
Meanwhile, a public interest litigation before the Kerala High Court has alleged “patent misuse” of public funds and state machinery for partisan ends.
The Nava Keralam – Citizens Response Programme Development/Welfare Study was cleared by the Kerala Cabinet on 29 October 2025.
Its stated objective was to collate ideas and recommendations from the public on development and welfare initiatives, identify shortcomings in the implementation of existing schemes, assess region-specific development needs, and gather suggestions to make welfare measures more effective.
The exercise is scheduled to be conducted between 1 January and 28 February 2026. The study was envisaged as a planning exercise to help shape future development policies.
The Cabinet decision stated that the programme would be implemented by utilising the services of members of social and voluntary organisations, with preparatory and training programmes to be conducted in advance.
A poster for the survey released by the state government.
A four-member state-level advisory committee and a state-level execution committee were proposed.
The advisory committee comprises Chief Secretary A Jayathilak, Chief Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister KM Abraham, IMG Director K Jayakumar, and Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode professor Saji Gopinath.
The director of the Information and Public Relations Department (I&PRD) was authorised to constitute committees at the panchayat, municipal, corporation, Assembly, and district levels.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan formally announced the rollout of the programme on 2 January, stating that volunteers had begun visiting households across the state from 1 January.
He said the initiative aimed to understand the aspirations of people in different regions and integrate their views into Kerala’s development planning.
“The opinion of each individual is important for the progress of the state. Listening to such suggestions and compiling them is part of the democratic process,” the Chief Minister said.
As part of the launch, volunteers visited the residences of prominent personalities across districts, distributing brochures and collecting feedback.
Those visited included senior BJP leader O Rajagopal, actor Madhu, filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan, former Supreme Court judge KT Thomas, Archbishop Mar Thomas Tharayil of Changanassery, musician Vaikom Vijayalakshmi, poet Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri, sculptor Kanayi Kunhiraman, and tribal leader Appukutta Poduval.
The government said trained volunteers would also visit workplaces, educational and healthcare institutions, farms, flats, and commercial establishments.
Yet even before its formal launch, the survey began attracting controversy after reports emerged in November 2025 that the CPI(M) had taken charge of mobilising volunteers for the exercise.
A letter issued by the party’s state committee instructed district units to induct individuals loyal to the LDF who were willing to work voluntarily and register through the official portal.
Notably, the directive indicated that volunteer mobilisation would continue until 31 March, well beyond the survey’s officially announced period.
The government is learnt to have allocated ₹20 crore for the project, though there is little clarity on the source of the funds.
Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan alleged on 11 January that the government was engaging in electioneering at public expense by deploying party workers as survey volunteers.
He said the Opposition had no objection to the ruling front carrying out political activities, but objected to the use of public funds and government machinery for a partisan exercise.
On 13 January, the Kerala High Court admitted a public interest litigation alleging misuse of public funds and state machinery for a politically motivated campaign disguised as an administrative survey.
The petition, filed by Kerala Students Union State president Aloshious Xavier, contends that CPI(M) cadres and sympathisers are conducting a state-funded, door-to-door political outreach.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar VM granted the government time until 21 January to file its response.
The petitioner has sought disclosure of financial details, court monitoring of the scheme, and an interim stay on the survey, arguing that the state already possesses extensive household-level data through the Planning Board and recent poverty-eradication surveys.
Even as the controversy around the survey raged on, the state government’s ambitious Vijnana Yatra, the Chief Minister’s Mega Quiz, organised by the I&PRD and the Departments of General Education and Higher Education, commenced across the state on 12 January.
The competition, aimed at students from Classes 8 to 12 as well as college and university students, seeks to familiarise the younger generation with the historical trajectory, reform movements and development milestones that have shaped modern Kerala, while encouraging further reading and research.
A poster for the Chief Minister’s Mega Quiz released by the state government.
A special publication, Ente Keralam, brought out by the I&PRD, serves as the base material for the quiz. A special edition, published this month, described the quiz as part of a “festival of knowledge”.
The publication states that the initiative seeks to document Kerala’s developmental trajectory, crisis responses and reform-driven governance, while reinforcing the idea of a “New Kerala”.
The quiz has been designed as a multi-tiered contest. In the school category, competitions progress through four levels: school (individual), educational district (team), district and state.
In the college category, the contest is conducted at the college, district and state levels, beginning with individual rounds before moving to team-based formats.
The process involves schools downloading question papers through OTPs received by nodal officers via the official portal. The preliminary round consisted of 30 main questions and 10 tie-breakers, with responses to starred questions used to resolve further ties.
From each institution, two teams of two students each were selected for the subsequent stages.
The final winners in both categories will be decided at a state-level grand finale scheduled for the third week of February.
The prize money on offer is substantial. In the school category, the first, second and third prizes carry awards of ₹5 lakh, ₹3 lakh and ₹2 lakh respectively. College-level winners will receive ₹3 lakh, ₹2 lakh and ₹1 lakh.
Just a day after its launch, however, the initiative ran into controversy. The immediate trigger was a question in the school-level preliminary round asking who had declared Kerala the first state free of extreme poverty in November 2025. The correct answer was Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
On 13 January, Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan alleged that a majority of the questions focused disproportionately on welfare schemes and flagship projects of the present and previous LDF governments, effectively turning the quiz into a vehicle for political messaging under the guise of education at public expense just months ahead of the polls.
He termed the exercise “shameful” and “humiliating for Kerala”, demanded its immediate withdrawal, and warned of legal action to recover public funds allegedly used for partisan political activities, adding that officials involved could also be held accountable.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
