Congress-led UDF wins big in Kerala local body by-elections

Thiruvananthapuram: In a sort of setback for the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) won 17 of the 33 seats in the recent by-elections to various local bodies in the state, the results of which were declared on Wednesday.

As per the final tally, the UDF won 17 seats, followed by the LDF (10), BJP (4), while Others won 2 seats.

Following the declaration of results, Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan said that it’s a wave in favour of the UDF, as of the 33 seats where elections were held, the Congress-led alliance increased its tally from 11 to 17 seats.

“We wrested five seats from the LDF, while in one seat we lost by a single vote. In two other seats, we lost by just four and 30 votes, respectively. Overall, we have done extremely well in all the by-elections ever since the LDF retained power in 2021,” the Congress leader said.

Incidentally, the results came at a time when Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his entire Cabinet are touring Kerala, touching all the 140 Assembly constituencies in the state.