LDF gains a modest upper hand in local body byelections

The Left Democratic Front (LDF) appears to have gained a modest upper hand in the byelections for 30 local body wards in the State.

The State Election Commission (SEC) said the LDF won 15 seats, the United Democratic Front won 12, the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) one seat, and Independents two in the byelections held on Monday. The Bharatiya Janata Party did not win any seats. The votes were counted on Tuesday

The SEC conducted the byelections in local body wards in 13 districts in the State, excluding Wayanad district. 

In the Kolikunnu and Pallippara wards in Kasaragod district, Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] candidates were elected unopposed. LDF and UDF interpreted the bypoll results differently.

The CPI(M) State secretariat stated that the bypoll results contradicted the Congress and the BJP claim that anti-incumbency anger against the LDF government had surged in the State. Voters had indicted the UDF and its alliance of communal forces for attempting to derail the State’s development and welfare initiatives. 

The CPI(M) said the LDF had won 17 of the 30 seats up for grabs. The UDF won 12. The BJP could not even gain a single seat. The CPI(M) said Congress support helped the SDPI win one of the party’s sitting seats at Pullippara in the Pandgode grama panchayat in Thiruvananthapuram district.

The CPI(M) said the LDF had an emphatic lead over the UDF in the winning seats. In several wards, the BJP gained from Congress losses. It said the voters had punished the BJP for the Centre’s anti-Kerala stance, including in the case of Wayanad rehabilitation.

Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan struck an opposite view. He said the UDF increased its seat share from 10 to 12. In contrast, he claimed the LDF’s seat share came down by three. 

In several wards, less than 10 votes made the difference between victory and loss. He said local body by-poll results signalled a profound anti-incumbency anger against the LDF government.