Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. (Express photo by Ravi Kanojia) Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. (Express photo by Ravi Kanojia)

As counting of votes for the local body elections in Kerala enters the final lap, CPI (M)-led Left Democratic Front is poised for a big win in three-tier local bodies. The LDF, which had suffered a severe setback in the last elections in 2010, has staged a comeback in village panchayats, block panchayats, municipalities and corporation.

Here are Highlights:

3:32 pm: A candidate who lost election for 15 votes collapsed to death in Kozhikode.

3:30 pm: “Peripheral approach is not enough. Serious introspection is required. Party high command would take a look at the issue,” said Chennithala.

3:20 pm: Congress dismal show in local body elections. Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala seizes opportunity to target his rival and chief minister Oommen Chandy. Chandy had claimed the poll outcome would be referendum on his government.

2:50 pm:

2:45 pm:

2:26 pm: BJP had majority in 66 wards out of 100 in Thiruvananthapuram corporation in the LS elections in 2014 when O Rajagopal contested. But in the local body election, BJP could win only in 34 wards.

2:12 pm: LDF leading/winning in 543 village panchayats against UDF’s 368 leads in village panchayats. BJP winning in 12 panchayats.

2:10 pm: In Thripunithura municipality in Ernakulam district, LDF wins. BJP emerges as opposition. Congress pushed to third position.

1:22 pm: With 24 seats, BJP emerges the single largest party in Palakkad municipality. However, no party has majority to rule. In the outgoing municipal body, BJP had 15 seats.

1:08 pm: We will seriously introspect the gains the BJP has made in the Thiruvananthapuram corporation: Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala

1:03 pm: Congress takes the defeat very seriously. It will look at what has gone wrong in the selection of candidates: Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala

1:02 pm: Congress state president V M Sudheeran said the Congress could not make the expected gains. However, our support remains intact.

He said the rout of Congress candidates in Thiruvananthapuram is a serious set back for the UDF. The party would examine the reasons behind the setback, he said.

12:58 pm: Opposition leader V S Achuthanandan, who led the Left campaign in the local body elections, said the verdict showed only secular, progressive politics has a place in Kerala.

He said the minority communities have realised that only Left can fight against the communal agenda of the BJP. The impressive show of the LDF in Kozhikode and Wayanad attested that minority communities are with the LDF. The LDF could make inroads into UDF strongholds, he said.

Achuthanandan said the poll outcome is a slap in the face of chief minister Oommen Chandy who is leading a ‘corrupt’ government in Kerala. He said the BJP-SNDP alliance has not made any impact in Kerala.

12:57 pm: Twenty 20, a mass movement of Kitex Group, wins 13 out of 19 seats in Kizhakkambalam. It defeated Congress party.

12:56 pm: It seems the Congress is scouting for reasons for electoral setback. Legislator T N Prathapan says UDF should discuss bar bribery scandal.

12:52 pm: A re-look is now needed perhaps at the BJP-SNDP alliance as it fails miserably in Cherthala municipality where SNDP leader Vellappally Natesan has a sway.

12:51 pm: CPI (M) stronghold Kannur district remains intact. BJP which had 14 seats in the district in last elections, is now leading in 28 seats.

Two CPI (M) leaders, accused of murdering an activist of right wing Muslim outft, win from Kannur. Karai Rajan and Karai Chandrasekharan win.

12:15 pm: At Kizhakkambalam village panchayat, the laboratory of a corporate house’s electoral dreams, Twenty-20 floated by Kitex group has emerged the winner. The candidates of twenty 20 defeated the Congress at Kizhakkambalam. At Idukki high ranges, Church-backed High range protection samithi won a few seats at Kattappana municipality.

12:08 pm: As much as we talk about the Left dominance in corporations, in municipalities, it is a different story altogether. Congress and CPM led alliances are involved in a neck to neck fight.

12:03 pm: After BJP’s surge in Trivandrum corporation, the house stands hung. LDF may be leading, but they need the support of the BJP to form a majority.

11:53 am: The CPM-led LDF has assumed majority in Kozhikode and Thrissur corporations.

11:52 am: Out of 100 divisions in Thiruvananthapuram corporation, BJP is leading in 31 seats against LDF’s 39 seats. The Congress is leading only in 18 seats. BJP has high stakes in the state capital where the party candidate had emerged second in a triangular contest in the LS elections in 2014. BJP is also set to improve its show at Kasaragod district, where the party has concentrated for assembly elections.

At the same time BJP has not gained the expected dividends from south Kerala districts where SNDP Yogam has influence among backward Hindu voters. At Cherthala municipality, the BJP-SNDP Yogam alliance did not make the expected gains, but the alliance worked at Mavelikkara municipality where it has emerged as a decisive force.

11:50 am: As per the latest figures, LDF is leading 490 village panchayats, 95 block panchayats, eight district panchayats, four corporations and 43 municipalities out of 1199 local bodies in Kerala.

BJP, which had joined hands with backward Hindu outfit SNDP Yogam, is leading in 19 village panchayats. In Thiruvananthapuram corporation, BJP has surged ahead pushing Congress into third position. In many local bodies, BJP would become a decisive force in a close contest between LDF and UDF. In many local bodies, either the Congress or the CPI (M) would have to seek the support of BJP to assume power.

11:16 am: BJP is also making gains in local bodies in Palakkad.

11:10 am: Congress ally Indian Union Muslim League faces setback in its pocket borough Malappuram.

10:48 am: Congress has now achieved the majority in Kochi corporation. At the same time, the Kollam corporation has gone to the CPM-led LDF.

10:38 am: Another BIG update. We can confirm that CPM’s C Jayan Babu, mayoral candidate in Thiruvananthapuram corporation, has been defeated by the BJP candidate.

10:35 am: Sorry state of affairs for the Congress-led UDF in the corporation elections. Thrissur, which was once a Congress stronghold, is going the CPM way. Kozhikode is also following a similar trend.

10:34 am: LDF retains Muslim-dominated Kozhikode corporation.

10:33 am: LDF surges ahead in village panchayats. Out of 941 village panchayats, LDF has either won or is leading in 454 panchayats. In 2010, the LDF had got only 311 village panchayats.

10:32 am: Congress ally RSP suffers a severe setback in Kollam district — its stronghold.

10:31 am: BIG update! Congress mayor in Thrissur M C Paul loses to BJP

10:25 am: In municipalities, it is a close fight between the LDF and the UDF.

10:22 am: Kannur corporation is now going the way of the UDF. Some solace for the Congress party.

10:13 am: BJP sure is winning wards across local bodies in the state, but not enough to get a majority in any of them. It’s LDF and UDF all the way.

10:07 am: Twenty-20 floated by Kitex group is leading at Kizhakkambalam village panchayat in Ernakulam. Want to know how a private firm has entered elections in Kerala? Read our story here

10:05 am: In Kollam district, LDF leads in 47 panchayats, followed by UDF in 21 panchayats.

9:57 am: Are the Left parties making a return to local bodies in Kerala? Let us know in comments below.

9:50 am: BJP has pushed Congress to third position in Thiruvananthapuram corporation as per the latest trends. Out of 100 divisions, LDF has won 31 seats, BJP 12 and Congress 10.

9:49 am: In elections to corporations, the CPM-led LDF now have a clear advantage. They are leading in 5 out of 6 corporations.

9:38 am: Out of 941 village panchayats, LDF is leading in 326 village bodies. Whereas, Congress-led UDF is leading in 275 village panchayats and BJP in 22. At block panchayats, LDF is leading in 89 bodies ,while UDF is leading in 49. While the fight is neck to neck at municipalities, LDF is leading in four out of six corporations.

9:35 am: The BJP is now making rapid gains in the Thiruvananthapuram corporation. Remember this was the Lok Sabha seat that the BJP narrowly lost in 2014 to Congress’s Shashi Tharoor.

9:24 am: Congress wins at Kanichukulangara in Alappuzha, the headquarters of SNDP Yogam general secretary Vellappally Natesan, an ally of BJP. At Perunna in Kottayam, the headquarters of upper caste Hindu outfit Nair Service Society, BJP won. NSS was against BJP’s alliance.

9:23 am: BJP which has joined hands with a backward Hindu outfit, has opened accounts in Kollam and Thrissur corporations, and at Alappuzha municipality. Elsewhere in Kerala, BJP is poised to improve its tally.

9:17 am: Just to give you a break-down of the trends across some of the districts:

Kannur corporation – 13 wards for LDF, 12 wards for UDF

Kochi corporation – 21 wards for LDF, 11 wards for UDF, 7 wards for BJP

Wayanad municipality – 2 wards for LDF, 1 ward for UDF

Trivandrum municipality – All 4 wards for LDF

Kozhikode corporation – 21 wards for LDF, 6 wards for UDF, 2 wards for BJP

Trivandrum corporation – 21 wards for LDF, 13 wards for BJP, 10 wards for UDF

Thrissur corporation – 5 wards for LDF, 4 wards for UDF

9:16 am: Here’s a picture of officials in the state capital counting votes.

Counting of votes for the Local body elections in Trivandrum, underway. pic.twitter.com/ezRXmD6uQv — ANI (@ANI_news) November 7, 2015

9:14 am: LDF has gained a clear edge in Thiruvananthapuram corporation, where BJP has high stakes.

9:13 am: In the Kochi corporation, the BJP is making headway. Are urban voters swinging towards the saffron party in Kerala like in other states? What do you think? Let us know in comments below.

9:11 am: In block panchayats, it’s a clear lead for the LDF. Right now, they are leading in 76 panchayats against 47 panchayats for the UDF.

9:03 am: The BJP can perhaps take solace in the fight that they are putting up a fight in districts like Kasarkode where they have traditionally drawn votes. Otherwise, in every other district, the BJP’s effect is not high.

9:01 am: In the elections to corporations, it’s advantage LDF. For those who are unaware of coalition politics in Kerala, LDF stands for Left Democratic Front, headed by the CPM. UDF on the other hand stands for United Democratic Front headed by the Congress.

8:54 am: Initial trends indicate a neck-to-neck fight between the Congress and the CPM.

8:42 am: These elections, which are a precursor to the state polls next year, are extremely important for the three parties – Congress, CPM and the BJP.

8:30 am: Welcome to our live blog where you will get all updates on the civic election results in Kerala. Stay tuned!

(With Web Desk inputs)

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