Kerala Local Body Bypoll Results: Ruling UDF Edges Past LDF But Loses Sitting Seats As Vote Share Declines

The Congress-led ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala suffered a setback in local body byelections held on Monday as it lost several sitting seats to the opposition, a month after ousting the LDF from power in the state.

The overall vote share of the ruling coalition also saw a decline, despite winning the highest number of seats.

Out of a total 38 wards that went to polls, the UDF won 18. As per State Election Commission (SEC) figures, the UDF won 18 seats while the CPI(M)-headed LDF got 16.

The BJP-led NDA managed to win only one seat, and three wards went to independent candidates. The results indicate that the UDF lost around four sitting seats, two of which are in the Chirayinkeezhu constituency, where Ramya Haridas won the assembly election.

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According to a report by news agency PTI, the recent altercation between Haridas and some local Congress leaders and the disciplinary action against some workers might have been a factor in the setback for the UDF in two seats.

The UDF dominated the bypoll in the Pathanamthitta district, winning all wards. However, it won only two out of the four wards in Ernakulam district, which is a Congress stronghold.

In Kottayam district, LDF inched ahead with two wards out of the three that went to bypolls. Similarly, in Palakkad district, the Left front won in four out of the seven wards.

In the Pallikal division of Mananthavady in Wayanad district and the Kuttichira ward in Kozhikode district, the UDF managed to retain three seats but with a thin majority of only a few hundred votes as compared to the margin of more than a thousand in the last elections.

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The result stresses a need for the UDF to reflect, as it is hardly five months since it gained power. The ruling alliance has been scrambling to defend itself from the attack by the Left Front on several issues, including lack of medicines in the government hospitals, with the Left Front specifically targeting Chief Minister Satheesan on these matters

In the bypolls, an overall turnout of 58.81 per cent was recorded, with the highest at 84.55 per cent in Kannur and the lowest at 54.24 per cent in Kottayam.

(With PTI Inputs)