The Kozhikode Corporation elections on December 11 are set for a fierce fight among the Left Democratic Front (LDF), United Democratic Front (UDF), and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The city, India’s first UNESCO City of Literature, has 76 council seats this time, one more than before. LDF, in power for nearly 45 years, looks strong. They hold four assembly seats in Kozhikode and have two state ministers among them. The coalition highlights its success in improving the city’s cleanliness, ranking Kozhikode 70th in Swachh Survekshan from 367th earlier, thanks to the ‘AZHAK’ hygiene scheme. It also won awards for senior citizen welfare and was named Kerala’s best corporation. UDF, led by Congress, aims to end LDF’s dominance. It points to a 2022 scam involving misuse of employee logins in the council’s software and claims weak council action against culprits. They also charge the corporation with fake documents and trade license fraud. BJP, with seven current seats, looks to grow by offering cleaner tax collection and better amenities. They want voters tired of both LDF and UDF to try them out. All parties have mixed candidate lists including businesspeople, retired officials, and local leaders. With the Mayor’s post open to all, CPI(M)’s deputy mayor C.P. Musafar Ahamed and KPCC general secretary P.M. Niyas are key names for LDF and UDF respectively. Congress’s original candidate, filmmaker V.M. Vinu, was dropped for missing from the electoral roll. The December 11 vote will be a tough test in a city proud of its new literary fame and long political legacy.