Congress surge in Kerala local body polls heralds a come back in the coming assembly polls

Thiruvananthapuram: Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) made a major surge across Kerala in the local body elections giving strong indications of a comeback in the assembly polls that are due to happen shortly.

While the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) also managed to put up an impressive performance by winning Thiruvananthapuram corporation and two municipalities, the ruling CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) suffered a major setback.

Sabarimala Ayyappa temple gold heist, various cooperative bank scams and other anti-incumbency factors were considered to have influenced the voters against the LDF.

Out of the 941 grama panchayats, UDF won 505, LDF 340 and NDA 26. Of the 152 block panchayats, UDF won 79 and LDF 63. With regard to district panchayats, UDF and LDF won seven each. Among the 87 municipalities UDF won in 54, LDF 28 and NDA two. UDF won four out of the six corporations, while LDF and NDA got one each.

LDF suffered setbacks in many of its strongholds including the Thiruvananthapuram corporation, Kollam, Pathanamthitta and Kannur.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in a statement that the reason for the party's setback would be reviewed and corrective measures taken. "BJP's victory in Thiruvananthapuram and the influence of communal forces in campaigns stress the need to be cautious against attempts by communal forces to mislead people," he said.

Meanwhile, opposition leader V D Satheesan of the Congress alleged that the communal campaigns unleashed by the CPM camps indeed helped the BJP. "In Thiruvananthapuram itself, it was CPM's loss that became gain for BJP, whereas the Congress could improve its position," he said.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge expressed confidence that the UDF would repeat this positive trend in the assembly polls too. "These results are a clear sign of growing confidence in the UDF and point the way towards a sweep in the upcoming Assembly election," Rahul said.

The Congress national leadership could have more reasons to cheer as the party performed well in Wayanad which is represented by Priyanka Gandhi in the Lok Sabha. UDF won 15 of the 17 seats in the district panchayat while it was a tie last time. The district was witnessing a strong internal rift in the party.

The pro-UDF election results are also being widely interpreted as an endorsement of V D Satheesan's leadership as opposition leader, even as he attributes it to 'team UDF'. Satheean's strong stand on the sexual assault allegations against a party MLA and the sharp criticisms against the LDF government were being widely hailed.

The Sabarimala Ayyappa temple gold heist row in which CPM leaders are involved also seems to have favoured the UDF more as the UDF won 45 of the 66 local bodies in Pathanamthitta district where the Ayyappa temple is situated.

CPM's efforts to woo the voters by announcing a slew of welfare measures, including increase in welfare pension to over 60 lakh beneficiaries, just ahead of the elections didn't give any electoral benefit to the party.

The Congress could effectively cash in on the anti-incumbency factors and also got support from various quarters, including Jamaat-e-Islami's political wing Welfare Party of India. Senior leaders, including CWC member Ramesh Chennithala, AICC general secretary K C Venugopal and Kerala PCC president Sunny Joseph, were extensively campaigning across the state in the elections that were widely considered as the semi-finals of the coming assembly polls.