The opposition Congress and BJP fared well in the local body byelections held across Kerala, to which the results were announced on Wednesday with the ruling CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) continuing its dominance in the State.
The LDF bagged 14 seats out of the 28 local body wards in the byelections while the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) got eight seats.
The LDF got four sets less than 2021's tally and the UDF made a significant comeback by bagging eight seats, two more than last polls. BJP-led NDA got two seats, one more than last time while independent candidates won four wards across the state.
The byelections were held for 28 local body wards in 12 districts on Tuesday and 97 candidates were in the fray.
The State Election Commission, in a release said the LDF got 14 seats out of which CPI(M) bagged 11, CPI-two and Kerala Congress (M)-one seat. In UDF alliance, Congress got four seats, while Indian Union Muslim League got three seats and RSP one.
In 2021 polls, it was 18 seats for LDF, six for UDF, one for NDA, while three for independent candidates.
Reacting to the results, Leader of the Opposition Congress, V D Satheesan, said the people have now sent a message to the Left government's arrogance. "We will bring down all Left forts in the State. We wrested back six seats from the LDF. This is a recognition to the Opposition's fight against the Left government," Satheesan said in a statement.
BJP State president K Surendran said his party has increased its vote share and grabbed a seat from the LDF. CPI(M) was yet to react.
Published 01 March 2023, 16:41 IST