Kerala Local Body Polls : Cong-led UDF wins big; BJP 'captures' Thiruvananthapuram
LDF appeared to be poised for a setback in Kollam, Kochi, and Thrissur corporations; BJP gets maximum seats in Thiruvananthapuram corporation
In a major boost to the Congress-led UDF ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections, the Opposition bloc appeared cruising towards a decisive victory in Kerala's local body elections on Saturday (December 13).
Early counting trends and results of the local body polls, which were held in two phases in the state earlier this week, indicated a significant shift in public opinion towards the UDF, which incidentally had swept the last two Lok Sabha polls in the state.
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The UDF, according to the trends released by the State Election Commission (SEC), appeared to be on its way to wrest control of three corporations-- Kollam, Thrissur and Kochi – from the LDF and retain the Kannur corporation.
Significantly, the Kollam and Thrissur corporations were held by the Left front for 25 and 10 years, respectively.
In the Kozhikode corporation, it is a close battle between the LDF and the UDF, with the Left front in the lead.
The Left also suffered a major setback in the Thiruvananthapuram corporation held by it for 45 years as the BJP-led NDA surged ahead with a huge lead which appears insurmountable even if the LDF and UDF join forces.
The trends and results indicate that the Sabarimala gold loss issue raised as a political campaign by the UDF against the Left front worked in favour of the opposition and the rival campaign by the LDF highlighting the sexual assault allegations against expelled Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil could not dent the UDF's prospects.
Earlier, counting of votes began at 8 am for the 1,199 local bodies in Kerala.
The trends shared by the SEC showed the ruling LDF and the opposition UDF leading in 371 and 389 grama panchayats, respectively, at 11.05 am.
The UDF was also ahead in 55 municipalities, 8 district panchayats, 76 block panchayats and 4 corporations, while the LDF was leading in 29 municipalities, 6 district panchayats, 64 block panchayats and one corporation. The BJP-led NDA was ahead in 28 grama panchayats, one block panchayat and one corporation.
(With agency inputs)