As counting for the Kerala assembly elections enters the final lap, the ruling LDF is headed for a historic win in the coastal. It will be the first time after the 1970s the state has voted a chief minister or party back to power.
According to the latest updates, the Left front is leading in as many as 99 seats in the state, while the Congress-backed UDF is at a distant second with just 41 seats.
The Left front is far ahead of its rivals in 10 of the 14 districts as per the latest figures. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has won by over 49,000 votes in Dharmadam constituency in Kannur. Almost all of his cabinet colleagues, barring J. Mercykuttiyamma, have won or are en route to winning their respective seats.
Health minister K.K. Shailaja, who got global attention for her handling of the health portfolio and led Kerala's battle against two deadly viruses—Nipah and now COVID-19, won by a record margin of 61,035 votes from Kannur's Mattannur.
As the UDF received a major drubbing and the BJP lost its sole constituency in the LDF sweep, Twenty20—the political party sponsored by industrialist Sabu M. Varghese of Kitex Ltd—also could not make its presence felt in the Kerala assembly elections. The corporate-backed party made an unprecedented entry into the election scene after it won Kunnathunad, Mazhuvannoor, and Aikkaranadu panchayats in the local body polls as recently as December 2020.
The party contested from eight constituencies in Ernakulam this time. However, the party failed to create any ripples as the UDF is set to retain nine of the 14 seats while the LDF was leading in rest of the five seats.