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Two-thirds majority for LDF in Kerala

Roy Mathew

5.65 percentage point difference between two fronts; seven Ministers of Oommen Chandy Cabinet lose

SPEARHEAD OF VICTORY: CPI(M) leader V.S. Achuthanandan, who has led the LDF to a massive victory in Kerala. File photo

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Left Democratic Front (LDF), led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), has won an impressive two-thirds majority in the Kerala Assembly elections. It secured 98 seats in the 140-member House.

Significantly, this is the highest-ever tally for the LDF in its present eight-party configuration.

The ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) got 41 seats and its partner, the Democratic Indira Congress (Karunakaran) one. The Bharatiya Janata Party failed to open its account. .

Prominent winners included CPI(M) leader, chief ministerial probable and Leader of the Opposition in the outgoing Assembly V.S. Achuthanandan, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, LDF convener Paloli Mohammed Kutty and Assembly Speaker Therambil Ramakrishnan. Several front-ranking UDF leaders tasted defeat. They included seven Cabinet Ministers, including Agriculture Minister K.R. Gouri, Cooperation Minister M.V. Raghavan, Education Minister E.T. Mohammed Basheer and Public Works Minister M.K. Muneer.

A pro-LDF wave swept through almost all districts, reversing the trend in the 2001 elections. But the pattern did not quite conform to the trend that was witnessed in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections — the LDF led in 112 Assembly segments.

The Indian Union Muslim League, second most prominent partner in the UDF, suffered a major setback, with two-thirds of its candidates failing in its strongholds in Malabar. Its strength in the Assembly comes down from 16 to seven. The alliance's leading partner Congress also suffered similar reverses. The party, which contested 77 seats, has only 24 seats in the new Assembly against 62 in 2001.

The difference between the two fronts this time is 5.65 percentage points. According to Election Commission figures, the LDF has got 48.63 per cent of the votes polled. It got 43.70 per cent in 2001. The UDF this time got 42.98 per cent, compared with 49.05 last time. The BJP has suffered a drop from 5.02 per cent last time to 4.75 now.

The CPI(M) and other constituents of the LDF made handsome gains. The CPI(M) which contested 85 seats improves its presence in the Assembly from 24 to 61. Besides, four Independents supported by the party have won the elections. The CPI, which contested 24 seats, won 17, increasing its membership in the Assembly from just seven. The Janata Dal (Secular) gained two more seats, winning five of the eight seats it contested. The Kerala Congress (J), which had only a single member in the outgoing House will now have four members. It contested six seats. The Revolutionary Socialist Party was victorious in three of the four seats it contested.

Several prominent leaders, who attracted major controversies in the past, were defeated. They included the Muslim League leader P. K. Kunhalikutty, Janata Dal (Secular) rebel A. Neelalohitadasan Nadar, former Health Minister K. K. Ramachandran Master and former Forest Minister K. P. Viswanathan. All but one of the 18 candidates fielded by the DIC(K) including party president K. Muraleedharan met with defeat. Other leaders of the party who bit the dust included the former Ministers T. M. Jacob and M.P. Gangadharan. The UDF convener P.P. Thankachan was also among the losers..

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