KANNUR: With the Left Democratic Front (LDF) once again proving its electoral supremacy in the district by winning eight of the 10 Assembly constituencies, the United Democratic Front (UDF) here has moved into introspection mode to determine the reasons for its defeat.

The UDF's major campaign theme in the district drew on the concerted efforts by the Congress leadership to highlight the alleged electoral malpractices by CPI(M) to "perpetuate" its dominance in its domain.

The LDF polled 54.77 per cent votes in all the 10 constituencies in the district while the UDF polled 38.84 per cent votes. The LDF polled 6,60,323 votes out of the total 12,05,581 votes polled. The UDF's share of votes was 4,68,250. The LDF's cornering 1,92,073 votes more than that of the UDF reflects its spectacular win in the district.

The UDF attributes its electoral debacle in the district to the pro-LDF wave that swept the State. The slender margin by which Congress leader K.C. Joseph won the Irikkur constituency and the steep decline of Congress leader K. Sudhakaran's lead in the Kannur constituency winning margin have shaken the UDF leadership here. The Congress leadership has already said that the erosion of the UDF vote share in the district would be examined by the party.

The LDF leadership views its victory in the district as a consolidation of its strength in its stronghold. CPI(M) district secretary M.V. Govindan termed the LDF performance impressive against all efforts to `stifle' the people's mandate by using `police terror' and official machinery.

He said the UDF's vote share decreased by 6.86 per cent when compared to what it had polled in the 2001 election, while the LDF enhanced its share by 5.07 per cent. The margins of the UDF's two candidates who won the election here would be a little more than 10,000 votes, he said.

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