THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The 16th and final session of the 15th Kerala Legislative Assembly will open on Tuesday with the customary address by Governor Rajendra V. Arlekar, setting the stage for what is widely expected to be one of the most combative sessions in recent years.
With Assembly elections due in April - May, the session doubles up as the last formal political battleground before the State slips into full-fledged poll mode.
As things stand, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) enters the session in pole position, buoyed by the stinging setback suffered by the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) in the December local body elections. The results have visibly energised the Opposition, which has been firing on all cylinders against what it describes as the accumulated failures of nearly a decade of Left governance.