Breaking the four-decade trend of no-incumbent getting re-elected, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) led by Pinarayi Vijayan has stormed back to power in Kerala with 99 seats out of 140.
The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and the ruling Left Democratic Front have been winning alternate elections since the early 1980s.
After the win, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said: "This is not the time to celebrate our huge win. Many wanted to celebrate but they have held back. Our fight against COVID-19 will continue."
On the other hand, UDF won 41 seats, and BJP failed to win even a single seat.
In Kerala, a total of 957 candidates, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, 11 of his cabinet colleagues, Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala, Senior Congress leader Oommen Chandy, BJP state chief K Surendran, 'Metroman' E Sreedharan, and former Union minister, KJ Alphons among others were in the fray for the 140 assembly seats.
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In the Palakkad assembly seat, Congress candidate Shafi Parambil won by 3,859 votes against BJP candidate E Sreedharan, popularly known as ‘Metroman’.
Kerala had a single phase of polling on April 6 amid the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The way Vijayan managed the floods, Nipah and COVID-19 has gained recognition globally and earned him the names “captain” and “iratta chankan” (man with two hearts, a compliment to his fortitude). However, it was not an easy ride for Vijayan, a handloom weaver and son of a toddy tapper, as the chief minister of Kerala in his first stint.
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