The Congress-led United Democratic Front swept aside a decade of Left rule under Pinarayi Vijayan with a decisive assembly victory, with the national party adding the third southern state to be ruled by it, in its kitty.
Key Points
- UDF sweeps Kerala with 102 seats, ending a decade of Left rule under Pinarayi Vijayan.
- Left exits power in all Indian states for the first time in nearly 50 years.
- Massive anti-incumbency: 13 ministers defeated; several LDF bastions collapse.
- BJP opens account with 3 seats, marking a breakthrough in the state.
- Congress consolidates support across communities, signalling a broad political shift.
Kerala on Monday witnessed a sharp political reset as the state electors voted out the last Left government in the country, bringing back the Congress to the ruling saddle after a gap of 10 years, while the Bharatiya Janata Party broke through a long-standing electoral drought by winning three seats.
The Congress-led United Democratic Front swept aside a decade of Left rule under Pinarayi Vijayan with a decisive assembly victory, with the national party adding the third southern state to be ruled by it, in its kitty.
The party is in power in Karnataka and Telangana.
While Congress' vote share stood at 28.79 per cent, that of Communist Party if India-Marxist was 21.77 per cent. Congress ally Indian Union Muslim League had a voteshare of 11.01 per cent.
Apart from strong anti-incumbency against the government, the results of the April 9 polls also indicated a consolidation of support across sections of society in favour of the United Democratic Front, which had been in opposition to the Left dispensation for the past decade.
UDF Wave Sweeps Kerala
The UDF won 102 seats, while the CPI(M)-headed Left Democratic Front netted 35 seats, according to Election Commission data on counting of votes for 140 constituencies.
The outcome also marked the absence of the Left from governance in any Indian state for the first time in five decades.
The ire against the government was so strong that 13 ministers in the cabinet suffered defeat in the political tsunami unleashed by the UDF.
Not only the Congress, but its key allies, including the IUML and Kerala Congress, also secured massive victories in the polls, which saw the complete erasure of the LDF in some key districts.
At the same time, the LDF partners, including the CPI-M, lost many seats, while a key ally, Kerala Congress-M, was reduced to zero in a humiliating outcome.
Ministers Routed, Leadership Survives
Top contenders for the Chief Minister's post, senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala and Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan, won their seats with comfortable margins, setting the stage for leadership discussions.
Of the 21 cabinet members, only Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and six others managed to win their seats.
Several ministers, including Veena George, M B Rajesh and others, suffered defeats, reflecting the scale of the anti-incumbency wave.
LDF convenor T P Ramakrishnan also lost his sitting seat of Perambra in Kozhikode district.
BJP Breaks Through
The BJP's bid to make inroads in Kerala got a boost with the party winning three seats -- Nemom and Kazhakoottam in Thiruvananthapuram district and Chathannoor in Kollam.
BJP candidate B B Gopakumar won Chathannoor by 4,398 votes.
In Nemom, state chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar triumphed by over 3,000 votes, while former Union Minister V Muraleedharan won Kazhakoottam with a narrow margin.
Political Reactions Pour In
Congress general secretary and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra thanked the people for their overwhelming support and vowed to work towards a better future.
Reacting to the outcome, All India Congress Committee general secretary K C Venugopal termed the verdict a rejection of 'arrogance, corruption and nepotism' of the CPI(M)-led government.
He claimed Chief Minister Vijayan's win in Dharmadam was 'only technical' and reflected a larger setback for the Left.
In a major upset for the CPI-M, leaders who had switched to the UDF ahead of the polls breached traditional Left strongholds.
CPI-M state secretary M V Govindan said the LDF would analyse the defeat and undertake corrective measures.
Verdict and Aftermath
BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar termed the election an 'anti-CPI(M) vote', alleging public anger over corruption and mismanagement.
Meanwhile, the 16th Kerala Legislative Assembly will have 11 women MLAs, one less than in the previous House.
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