The CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF), despite handicapped by the gold smuggling scam and allegations of massive corruptions, managed to score impressive win in most of the local bodies in the State which went to the three-phase polls during the last week.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in a late evening media briefing, thanked the people of the State for reasserting their trust and confidence in the LDF. “The results show that the Congress-led UDF has become irrelevant in the State while the BJP is not a factor in Kerala. What adds to the beauty of the win is that this has happened despite the best efforts by Central agencies to spread canards and falsehoods about the Kerala Government,” said Vijayan.

According to reports from the Kerala State Election Commission, the CPI(M) has won absolute majority in two of the six municipal corporations in the State. The LDF led by the CPI(M) has established absolute majority in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Kozhikode municipal corporations while the Congress-led UDF won Kannur corporation with big margin. But the corporations of Kochi and Thrissur have ended up as hung houses with both the fronts failing to cross the half-way mark.

Out of the 14 district panchayats in the State, the LDF and UDF won nine and five districts respectively while the BJP-led NDA drew blank. The Congress-led UDF did well by winning 45 of the 86 municipalities while the LDF finished as runner-up by bagging 35 municipal councils. The NDA wrested Pandhalam and retained Palakkadu municipal councils with absolute majority. It also managed to emerge as the single largest unit in two more municipal councils.

The LDF retained its hold in village panchayats. The front bagged 516 of the 941 village panchayats that went to the polls while the UDF had to content with 375 panchayats.

The NDA won 22 village panchayats with other parties bagging the remaining 28 panchayats.

The LDF continued its good show in block panchayats also. Out of the 152 block panchayats , the LDF won 108 panchayats with the UDF finishing runners-up by bagging 44 panchayats.

Though the CPI(M) succeeded in winning the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, the reigning mayor Sreekumar was defeated by the BJP candidate Kumaran. The two women candidates of the CPI(M) who were seen as front runners for the mayoral chair too fell by the wayside. In a similar incident, N Venugopal, the mayoral candidate of the Congress for the Kochi Corporation council lost by a single vote to the BJP candidate.

Ramesh Chennithala, Leader of the Opposition, said that the BJP has been a total failure in the State. He claimed the Congress has improved its performance compared to 2015 local body election. “We won more village panchayats, municipal councils and block panchayats,” claimed Chennithala.

But the BJP president K Surendran charged that there was open trade of votes between the CPI(M) and the Congress to defeat the BJP. “The BJP lost in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation Council only because of this unholy alliance between these two parties. The CPI(M) had shifted their votes to the Congress and vice versa in seats where the BJP was certain to win,” charged Surendran.