Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Voters in Kerala delivered a decisive victory to the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in the Assembly election, ending 10 years of Left Democratic Front (LDF) rule. Riding an anti-incumbent wave, the UDF won 102 seats, relegating the LDF to 35 and rebounding from its electoral wipeout in the Assembly elections in 2016 and again in 2021.
The BJP has won from three Assembly constituencies — Nemom, Kazhakuttam and Chathannoor.
The UDF registered a clean sweep in five districts — Malappuram, Wayanad, Ernakulam, Kottayam and Idukki, leaving the LDF without a single seat in these regions. The LDF was further reduced to just one seat each in Kasaragod, Pathanamthitta and Kozhikode, underlining the depth of the electoral setback.
Ernakulam emerged as the standout, with the UDF winning all 14 seats in what is being described as a historic sweep.
In Malappuram, all 16 seats went to the UDF, with the Indian Union Muslim League candidates posting record margins.
A string of senior Ministers and political heavyweights in the LDF suffered defeats such as Veena George, V.N. Vasavan, V. Sivankutty, R. Bindu and M.B. Rajesh, K. Mani, K.K. Shailaja, K.B. Ganesh Kumar and K.T. Jaleel.
In Kozhikode, long considered a Left citadel, the UDF won 12 of 13 seats, with only Minister P.A. Mohammed Riyas managing to retain Beypore for the LDF.
The LDF found limited consolation in Thrissur, Palakkad and Kannur. With this emphatic verdict, the UDF returns to power after a decade, while the defeat of LDF marks the end of the Left party heading any major state government in the country.
