Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF is all set for a thumping victory in Kerala with leads in 96 seats. The Kerala Chief Minister has won from the Dharmadam constituency by a margin of over 50,000 votes. The Left alliance had sought a historic second term in a state that alternates between the alliances. Even the poll of exit polls had predicted a change to the pattern, allocating 85 of 140 seats to the LDF alliance and 53 to the Congress-led UDF. LDF secured 99 seats while UDF just won 41 seats. BJP failed to register its presence in the Assembly with losing its only sitting seat in Nemom. A second term for an alliance is also marking a history after four decades in the state.
“BJP had claimed they will big win in Kerala. Senior BJP leaders made claims of forming the government. We had stated that BJP’s existing seat will also not exist in Kerala. Several top BJP leaders spent their time and money in Kerala. They must understand Kerala’s peculiarity. Kerala does not accept communalism, divisiveness,” said Pinarayi Vijayan.
“The news that the swearing-in ceremony will take place tomorrow is not true. The resignation will be submitted when I reach Thiruvananthapuram tomorrow. The rest will be decided after discussion with the party and the Front,” said Pinarayi Vijayan.
“On behalf of DMK, I congratulate Comrade @vijayanpinarayi for leading his party to victory in the Kerala state elections. His measured and decisive leadership has been instrumental in helping Kerala achieve great heights and I wish him another very successful tenure,” tweeted MK Stalin.
“We accept the results are not as expected, especially in Assam and Kerala. It’s a worrying aspect that we didn’t win in Kerala and Assam. We will be a responsible opposition in both states. We congratulate the Left and Pinaryi Vijayan,” said Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala.
Kerala voted in a single phase to elect 140 MLAs to the state Assembly. The state had registered a voter turnout of 73.40 per cent. The counting of votes began at 8 am today.
The Kerala Assembly Election 2021 were held with strict adherence to anti-coronavirus protocols. Wearing of masks and maintaining proper social distance was made mandatory during the entire election process. The number of polling booths was increased for staggered voting.
In the 2016 elections, the CPIM-led Left Democratic Front or LDF had won the majority of votes. The main fight in the state is between the LDF and the Congress-led UDF. While Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan hopes to form the government for the second consecutive term, the Congress, which had won 19 of the 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala in 2019, is banking on the anti-incumbency factor.
