Published 15:25 IST, December 16th 2020
Kerala Local Body Election Results: Left trounces Congress, BJP fares better
The CPI(M)-led LDF has managed to sweep the local body elections in Kerala with a comfortable margin. The allegations of scams couldn't help Congress' UDF.
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The CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front has managed to sweep the local body election in Kerala with a comfortable margin. The local body elections, which generally looks at the candidate more than the party for election has given a big advantage to the ruling CPM. The allegations of scams couldn't help the main opposition in the state, the Congress' United Democratic Front (UDF) create an impact in this election.
Kerala Local Body Election Results
Of the 15962 gram panchayats, LDF is leading in 6700 seats and Congress numbers are lesser by over 1500 seats, with 5200 leads. In block panchayat too, LDF witnessed a comfortable win and is leading in 1234 of the 2080 seats. The UDF here is leading in 730 seats.
The Left also cruised to lead in district panchayat with a comfortable gap. Of the 331 seats, the Left leads in 213 seats and is looking for an easy win with Congress trailing behind, with 110. However, the UDF did give a stiff contest in municipalities where it is fighting a neck-to-neck battle with LDF.
Of the 3078 seats, both the parties have nudged past 1055. At the corporation level, LDF has swooped down traditional voters of UDF to their fray. Of the 414 seats in 6 corporations, LDF has a comfortable lead in 206 seats.
The wind of local body elections is blowing left. The Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) was able to dent LDF in many panchayats, yet it didn't make a significant stride. The saffron party, that did improve its numbers marginally compared to 2015, was unable to displace the Left at grassroots, results indicate.
However, BJP retaining the Palakkad Municipality, its surprise win in Pandalam, its surge of seats in Shornur, Ottapalam, securing a seat in Kannur left citadel as well as places like Ochira, is a breather to the party.
Its gamble of shifting of councilors in wards that had a big base for the Left, ended up as a failure, with the party losing both the sitting ward as well as the contested ward.
But, the election results have posed a big challenge to the grand old Congress Party which has struggled to hold its clout. The hung election in Kochi Corporation, for instance, which is largely a friendly base for the Congress, is a true indication that things are not going so well for the Congress.
15:25 IST, December 16th 2020