The Congress-led UDF, which held power in 13 of the 39 wards, had to remain content with wins in 12 wards. (Representational Image) The Congress-led UDF, which held power in 13 of the 39 wards, had to remain content with wins in 12 wards. (Representational Image)

In the bye-elections to local body seats in Kerala, that had fallen vacant due to a variety of reasons, the CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) put up an impressive performance winning 21 out of 39 wards that were on offer. The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) came second with 12 seats and the BJP ending up in third spot with just 2 seats. The elections were held in 27 panchayat wards, five block panchayat wards, six municipality wards and one corporation ward across all 14 districts of the state.

The LDF’s tally of victories in 21 wards came from Thrissur district (5 out of 5 wards), Kannur district (2 out of 4 wards), Kozhikode district (1 out of 1 ward), Malappuram district (2 out of 4 wards), Alappuzha district (1 out of 5 wards) and Palakkad district (2 out of 2 wards).

The Congress-led UDF, which held power in 13 of the 39 wards, had to remain content with wins in 12 wards. While it lost five wards, it was able to wrest four different wards from Opposition parties. It’s biggest upset was in Pathanamthitta municipality where a rebel Congress candidate defeated the party’s official nominee.

For the BJP, these results are not heartening at all. It was able to win just two wards, both in Alappuzha district which used to be ruled by the UDF. The saffron party, which has led violent protests over the Sabarimala women’s entry issue, has clearly not been able to make political dividends as expected.

In Pandalam, the epicentre of the protests, the SDPI, political arm of the Popular Front, wrested a ward from the CPM, which ended up in third position. In Thrissur district, the BJP conceded a ward to the LDF in the bye-election.

These are the first elections being conducted in Kerala after the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on the entry of women of all ages at the Sabarimala temple. The issue has become a major talking point over the last two months and has fired up an intense rivalry between the state’s chief parties.

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