Wayanad to coastal areas, Cong can’t cease Pinarayi wave

BUCKING its custom of voting out the ruling get together each 5 years, Kerala selected to stick with the Left Democratic Front, rendering the Congress-led UDF an embarrassing defeat within the state.
The coalition, which bagged 19 out of 20 seats within the Lok Sabha elections of 2019, ended with 41 seats within the 140-strong Assembly. The UDF present was primarily confined to central Kerala districts of Ernakulam and Kottayam, and ally IUML’s stronghold of Malappuram.
In truth, the Congress, the UDF’s main get together, fared the worst. Of the 93 seats it contested, fielding new and younger faces in half of them, it might win solely 21. In Rahul Gandhi’s Wayanad Lok Sabha seat too, the place he extensively campaigned, the UDF misplaced in three of the seven Assembly segments.
Congress state president Mullappally Ramachandran known as the defeat surprising. “There is nothing in the political situation in Kerala that justifies this verdict.”
In the southern districts of Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam, the Congress gained solely three out of 25 seats. Among the largest shocks for the get together was the defeat of V S Sivakumar from Thiruvananthapuram to minor LDF ally Janathipathya Kerala Congress’s Antony Raju. Congress younger face and two-term legislator Okay S Sabarinathan misplaced to CPM native chief G Stephen, who had confronted protests from inside the get together.
In Opposition chief Ramesh Chennithala’s Alappuzha district, the Congress win was restricted to his seat.
The Congress had anticipated a wave in its favour in coastal areas in southern districts because the fishermen group was offended with the LDF authorities over a cope with US companies for deep-sea fishing. The Catholic diocese of Alappuzha and Kollam had overtly come out in opposition to the deal through the elections, main the Congress to hope for good points within the 40-odd coastal constituencies in Kerala. However, that didn’t occur.
In North Kerala districts additionally, the Congress couldn’t enhance its tally. In Kozhikode district, the get together couldn’t win in a single seat.
The IUML however gained 17 of the 27 seats it contested, retaining its maintain on its bastion of Malappuram district. Last time, it had contested 23 seats and gained 18.
The breakaway Kerala Congress led by P J Joseph gained solely two of the ten seats it had contested.
Among the UDF leaders who misplaced had been Okay M Shaji (IUML), V T Balram (Congress), Anil Akkara (Congress) and Okay S Sabarinathan (Congress).
The defeat is a second blow for the Congress after the native physique elections in December, that the LDF had swept, and lots of get together leaders admitted it was a do-or-die battle. After the December loss, the Congress had introduced in former chief minister Oommen Chandy to the centrestage, making him the chairman of the election committee.
It had additionally this time chosen names primarily based on “winnability”, avoiding its typical pitfall of factional leaders pushing personal leaders.
The get together additionally hoped to have made an influence with the anomalies in electoral rolls alleged by Chennithala within the run-up to voting. The ruling CPM had maintained silence on the matter.