In the 74-member local body, 38 seats are required to obtain an absolute majority and the LDF won 34.
Kochi Corporation has been a known citadel of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) for the past 10 years. But the results of recent local body polls in Kerala that were announced on Wednesday show that urban voters have decided to elect the Democratic Left Front (LDF) this time. The LDF has emerged with the largest number of seats, paving the way for a relatively easy way to seize power in the metropolitan city. Meanwhile, the UDF lost even its most anticipated seats, including that of its mayoral candidate, and retaining power will be a Herculean task for the congressional-led front.
In the 74-member local body, 38 seats are required to obtain an absolute majority. While the LDF won 34 seats, which includes five of its independent candidates backed by the left, and the UDF won 31 seats, including an independent backed by Congress. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secured five seats, with the remaining four seats won by rogue candidates.
Although it may seem equally possible for both UDF and LDF to get the 38 mark, many feel it is not. Considering Kerala’s political landscape, BJP councilors are more likely to abstain, supporting neither the UDF nor the LDF, when it comes to selecting the mayor.
So, of the existing 69 members, a front will only need a simple majority of 35 members to take power. Given that the LDF already has 34 seats, the party feels it is just a matter of trusting one of the four rogue candidates. This path has been cleared for the left as the rebel Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) candidate has already come out in the media, hinting that he will support LDF.
“My consideration is the development of Mattacherry backwardness and an attempt of that will be there by CPI (M) and LDF, that is why I support them unconditionally,” said TK Asharaf, the IUML rebel who won from Kalvathy. media on Thursday. Giving further indications that the IUML rebel will support the LDF, CPI (M) district chief CN Mohanan met with TK Asharaf on Thursday.
The UDF’s chance of retaining power is very bleak. With one of the four rebels already extending their support to LDF, scoring 35 points is almost nil. While a section of congressional leaders, including N Venugopal, who opposed and lost in the elections, said it will be a very difficult task, MP Hibi Eden told the media that the UDF will continue to “try to retain the power”.
The UDF voting percentage in Kochi has dropped considerably from the past. In the last elections, LDF had just won 23 seats, while UDF won 38. At that time, they had won 11 independent candidates. Meanwhile, the NDA has improved its performance. Last year, the BJP-led coalition won in two districts, but this time it secured five.
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UDF leads only in two corporations
While LDF leads in Kozhikode, Ernakulam, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram, UDF only leads in Kannur and Thrissur.
In the Kannur corporation, UDF won 34 seats while LDF won 19. Among these 34 seats, 14 are for the Muslim League of the Indian Union. NDA first opened its Kannur account by winning a seat in the Pallikkunnu neighborhood. BJP’s VK Shaiju won out of the room. An independent candidate also won the elections.
In 2015, UDF only won 27 seats in the Kannur corporation, while LDF secured 26 seats. This time, UDF had a great victory at Kannur.
In the Kozhikode corporation, LDF won with 49 seats. UDF won in 14 theaters, while NDA won in seven. Five independent candidates also won at the Kozhikode corporation. In Kozhikode, the trend remained almost the same since the previous elections, as LDF had won in 47 districts in 2015. UDF had secured 20 seats and NDA won in seven theaters.
In the Thrissur corporation, UDF won 23 seats while LDF won 20 seats. Although NDA had high expectations at Thrissur, they were only able to get six seats. They also won five independent candidates. In 2015, LDF had ruled the corporation with 23 seats. UDF secured 21 seats at the time, while BJP won in six theaters.
In Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram, LDF won a great victory. At Kollam, they won by securing 39 seats, slightly more than in 2015. They won 35 seats at the time. UDF and NDA got nine and six seats respectively at Kollam. The UDF’s influence in Kollam has shrunk considerably since they won 16 seats in the last election. The Thiruvananthapuram corporation also witnessed the LDF victory with 51 seats.
In Thiruvananthapuram, where the NDA had high hopes, they could win 34 seats. Even in previous elections, it was the same figure. While the LDF won 51 seats, in a major setback for the UDF, which had 21 elected members in the corporation in 2015, they have been reduced to just six seats in the capital city.
Read:
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