The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) registered a huge victory in the local body by-election to 31 wards held on Tuesday.

Of the 31 contested seats, the UDF won 17, the ruling CPI-M-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) won 11, and the BJP secured three seats. Before the by-elections, the LDF held 15 wards, the UDF had 13 seats, and the BJP had three. While the LDF lost four wards to the UDF in the by-election, the BJP’s tally remained the same.

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With the fresh results, the UDF wrested three gram panchayats from the LDF: Nattika in the Thrissur district, Thachampara in the Palakkad district, and Karimannoor in the Idukki district.

In Thrissur district, P Vinu, former gram panchayat president, won by a margin of 115 votes in Nattika, a ward previously secured by the LDF with a majority of 260 votes. This stunning turnaround has resulted in the LDF losing power in the Nattika panchayat. The Congress retained the Chovannoor panchayat ward, while the BJP retained a ward in the Kodungallur municipality in the district.

In Palakkad district, the UDF has captured the fourth ward in Thachampara from the LDF, with Muslim League candidate Ali Thekath defeating the CPI candidate by a narrow margin of 28 votes. This victory has shifted the balance in the 15-member panchayat committee, giving the UDF the support of eight members, thereby ending LDF’s rule in the panchayat.

In Chalissery Panchayat, UDF candidate K Sujitha secured a victory by 104 votes in the election held to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of UDF’s A Sandhya, the former panchayat president. In Koduvayur Panchayat, the LDF retained its seat with its candidate A Muraleedharan winning by a margin of 108 votes.

In Idukki district, UDF candidate AN Dileep Kumar captured the Pannoor ward in the Karimannur Panchayat, previously held by the LDF, signalling the end of the LDF’s rule in the panchayat. Additionally, in the Idukki Block Panchayat, UDF’s Sandramol Jinny won the Kanjikuzhi ward by an overwhelming margin of 745 votes.

In Thiruvananthapuram, the BJP retained the Karikankode ward in Vellarada panchayat. The LDF retained the Pulinchani ward of Aruvappulam Panchayat in the Pathanamthitta district.

In Pathanamthitta district, the BJP captured ward 5 of Ezhumattoor Panchayat from the Congress with its candidate Rani Teacher winning by 48 votes. The UDF secured a significant victory in ward 7 in Niranam Panchayat, wresting the seat from the LDF after 28 years. UDF’s Reji Kaniam Kandathil won this seat by 211 votes.

In Alappuzha’s Pathiyoor Panchayat, UDF candidate Deepak Eruva won the by-election in the 12th ward, wresting the seat from the LDF. This panchayat had earlier seen Bipin C Babu defect from CPM to BJP.

In Kannur district, the LDF retained the Kanichar Panchayat, with CPI-M candidate Ratheesh Porunnan winning the sixth ward by 199 votes. The LDF now holds seven seats, compared to the UDF’s six. Similarly, in Madai Panchayat, LDF’s Mani Pavithran secured a victory in the sixth ward with a margin of 234 votes. The UDF retained the Anayamkunnu West ward of Kozhikode district’s Karassery Panchayat.

Wednesday’s results show that the UDF can maintain the momentum in the Lok Sabha elections this year, where the UDF secured 18 of 20 seats, and in last month’s by-elections, where Congress candidate Priyanka Gandhi achieved a remarkable victory in Wayanad and the Congress candidate expanded the margin of victory from about 4,000 votes to over 18,000 in the Palakkad Assembly by-election.

The UDF cited the results as proof of strong anti-government sentiment in the state. Leader of the Opposition in Kerala Assembly, VD Satheesan, said the results of the local body by-polls showed people’s dissent against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s misrule in the state.

“The Pinarayi Vijayan government is a huge burden to the state and its people, and the public has realised this,” Satheesan said, adding, “In the elections next year, the UDF will sweep all local bodies in the state. The results show that the LDF faces strong anti-incumbency in Kerala. UDF candidates won all the divisions with a clear majority. In some seats, the Congress could end CPM’s long-standing supremacy.”