Polls were held simultaneously in all 140 seats and resulted in a voter turnout of 71.16%.

[1][2] The then Leader of opposition, V. S. Achuthanandan lost from Mararikulam, a Marxist bastion.

It is only the second instance in Kerala that the chief ministerial candidate of a major party lost in an election (In 1965, R. Sankar, former Congress Chief Minister lost from the Attingal constituency.

On 20 May 1996, a 14 member cabinet of Left Democratic Front led by former Chief Minister E. K. Nayanar was sworn in.

[3][4] Nayanar subsequently went on to become the longest serving Chief Minister of the state.