After an election, the governor selects as chief minister the leader of the party most likely to command the confidence of the assembly, usually by possessing a majority of MLAs.

Governors discharge all constitutional functions, such as the appointment of the chief minister, sending reports to the president about failure of constitutional machinery in a state, or with respect to issues relating to the assent to a bill passed by legislature, exercise or their own opinion.

The executive authority is headed by the Chief Minister of Kerala, who is the de facto head of state and is vested with most of the executive powers; the Legislative Assembly's majority party leader is appointed to this position by the Governor.

The incumbent chief minister of Kerala is serving his second consecutive term, and was sworn into power on 20 May 2021.

In December 2023, the Kerala Cabinet underwent a reshuffle as part of a mutual agreement among member parties.

The reshuffling is in accordance with a pre-election agreement within the Left Democratic Front (LDF) coalition.

[3] The legislature comprises the governor and the legislative assembly, which is the highest political organ in the state.

These field departments form an integral part of the administrative structure, working in conjunction with the Secretariat to effectively implement government policies and initiatives at the grassroots level.

The Kerala State Emblem is a derivative version of the royal coat of arms of the Kingdom of Travancore.

Shanku was considered one of the common emblems of a majority of the Kerala feudal kingdoms.

When the kingdoms of Cochin and Travancore merged in 1949, for a brief period, the crest carried a wheel or chakra in the centre with Shanku on top of it.

During this time, the royal coat of arms of the Travancore kingdom was modified by placing the "Lion Capital of Ashoka" on top of the imperial conch.

Due to the large numbers of eligible voters, over 21 million, elections are usually held on several dates.

The Malabar region, particularly Kannur and Palakkad, are considered the heartland of the Communist parties.

The Kollam and Alapuzha districts, where trade unions have a strong presence, are generally inclined to Left parties, though several times the UDF has won.

The CPI(M) led LDF did a clean sweep of 11–0 over UDF and NDA in Kollam district during 2016 Local body election.

The Indian National Congress, which leads the UDF coalition, has had a very strong presence in Kerala since pre-Independence days.

Other popular regional parties are: Kerala was declared as the first complete digitally administered state of India on 27 February 2016.

[15] The state topped in the country to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals according to the annual report of NITI Aayog published in 2019.