Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Wednesday, 16 December, that the Left Democratic Front (LDF) scored a "comprehensive victory" in the local body polls, whose results were announced on the same day.
"This is a victory of the people of the state. This election result is a befitting reply to those who are trying to destroy Kerala. Efforts of those who tried to destabilise the government using central agencies have been defeated," the CM was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Slamming the “opportunistic politics” of the United Democratic Front (UDF), Vijayan accused the Congress of siding with the BJP to carry out a false campaign and malign the LDF.
“People accepted the development works carried out by the LDF government in the last four years. Those who were behind disinformation campaign thought that people’s mandate can be turned against LDF. I congratulate and thank all voters who were not influenced by the false campaign and supported LDF.”Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, as quoted by ANI
The Results
The alliance of left-wing parties retained the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, winning 51 out of 100 wards. Significantly, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) came second with 34 wards, followed by the Congress-led UDF (United Democratic Front) with 10 and others with five.
Here’s a snapshot of the latest trends:
- In 941 gram panchayats, the LDF was leading in 514, the UDF in 377, NDA in 22 and others in 28.
- In 152 block panchayats, the left front was ahead in 108, and the UDF in 44. The former was also leading in 10 out of 14 district panchayats in Kerala, while the latter was ahead in four.
- In 86 municipalities, it was the UDF which was leading in 45, while the LDF was ahead in 35. The NDA was leading in four, and Others in two.
- Meanwhile, the LDF and the UDF were tied for six corporations, with three each.
About the Local Body Elections
All public gatherings within areas of 500 metres from the counting centres had been prohibited. Victory processions were also not allowed to have more than 20 participants in certain parts of the state, reported Times Now.
The State Election Commission had made elaborate arrangements at 244 counting centres in view of the pandemic.
The local body polls were held in three phases in Kerala. As per the State Election Commission, in the third and the final phase of the local body polls, 78.64 percent voter turnout was recorded. The second phase recorded 76.38 percent voter turnout and in the first phase, the turnout was 72.67 percent.
Polling took place in three phases on 8, 10 and 14 December – in 15,962 wards in 941 gram panchayats, 2,080 wards in 152 block panchayats, 331 divisions in 14 district panchayats, 3,078 wards in 86 municipalities and 414 wards in six municipal corporations.
(With inputs from ANI and The News Minute.)
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