THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The ruling LDF in Kerala won 21 of 39 local body wards where bypolls were held on Thursday, proving the gamble it took on the Sabarimala issue has not set it back. BJP won two new seats but lost a sitting one to LDF, and cut a sorry figure in Pathanamthitta district, where Sabarimala temple is located.Congress-led UDF won 11 wards, losing five from its pre-poll tally of 16. The campaign for the bypolls was as fiery as any LS election as controversy swirled around the SC order allowing women of all ages to enter the Sabarimala temple.The CPM-led LDF campaigned hard to convince voters about the position the Pinarayi Vijayan government took while Congressled UDF and BJP tried to cash in on religious sentiments hurt of reportedly the majority Hindu community.BJP, which won two panchayat wards in Alappuzha district, cut a sorry figure in neighbouring Pathanamthitta district, where Sabarimala temple is located. In Pandalam municipality, the nerve centre of Sabarimala protest organised by Hindu outfits, BJP nominee polled 12 votes in the Kadakkad division, where SDPI, the political party of Muslim group NDF, emerged winner.The loser in the polls was the Congress-led UDF which won 11 wards, losing five from its pre-poll tally of 16. SDPI won two seats against one it previously held. Independents won three wards. Tho- ugh LDF celebrates its win, vote shares of BJP and SDPI have grown substantially in at least some pockets.