The setback suffered by the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in the Lok Sabha election is unexpected, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said.

Mr. Vijayan said in a release here on Thursday that the Lok Sabha election usually reflected the anti-incumbency feeling against the ruling party at the Centre. The verdict in the State would thus be against the Centre. The State had witnessed such a verdict against the Congress too.

A strong feeling against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was prevalent all over the State during the election campaign and it was generated by the LDF campaign and interventions. This led to the poll outcome against the BJP in the State.

It was the political interventions of the LDF that prevented the BJP from opening its account in the State. The Congress benefited from the people’s opposition to the BJP. The LDF would analyse the reasons for the setback and go ahead, he said.