The Left Democratic Front (LDF) led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has returned to power in Kerala defeating the Congress Party-led United Democratic Front (UDF) by 91-47.
It was the LDF all the way as the state decided to keep its tradition of alternating between the main fronts and thrashing the hopes of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy that the unprecedented infrastructure development and benevolent schemes would bring him votes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also opened its account in the 140-member assembly with its veteran leader O Rajagopal stitching a convincing victory in Nemom constituency defeating a CPM candidate.
The BJP lost Manjeshwar constituency in the northern tip of the state by a whisker of 89 votes while it came second in Kasaragod, Malampuzha, Palakkad, Chathannur and Vattiyoorkavu.
Four ministers, K Babu (Thrippunithura), Shibu Baby John (Chavara), K P Mohanan (Koothuparamba) and P K Jayalakshmi (Mananthavadi), bit the dust.
Speaker N Sakthan (Kattakkada) and Deputy Speaker K Surendran were also defeated.
However, K M Mani, who had to quit as finance minister after bribery charges, retained his Pala seat for the 13th straight time by a margin of 4,703 votes.
His bitter rival P C George won the nearby Poonjar seat by a margin of 27,821 votes to become the lone unattached independent in the assembly. Of the 91 winners on the left side, six are CPM-backed independents.
Chandy, 72, defeated his CPM rival by 27,092 votes in Puthuppally while Leader of the Opposition V S Achuthanandan, 92, was elected from his Malampuzha constituency by 27, 142 votes.
The opponents of both were student leaders in their twenties.
CPM strongman Pinarayi Vijayan, 72, who is likely to succeed Chandy, won from his home constituency of Dharmadam by a huge margin of 36,905 votes.
His lieutenant E P Jayarajan registered the highest margin of 43,381 votes in the nearby Mattannur constituency while Anil Akkara of the Congress won Wadakkanchery by the lowest margin of just three votes.
The UDF could not win any seat in Kollam district.
The winning margin of CPM candidates C Krishnan (Payyanur), T V Rajesh (Kalliasseri), James Mathew (Taliparamba), Aisha Potty (Kottarakkara) and B Sathyan (Attingal) and Mons Joseph (Kaduthuruthy) of Kerala Congress crossed the winning margin of 40,000.
Clashes between CPM and BJP workers erupted in several parts of the state after the results were announced. A CPM worker was killed in a blast during the victory procession of Vijayan in Dharmadam.
In some places, UDF and LDF workers also clashed.
“People have given a decisive verdict in our favour and against the communal and divisive forces,” Vijayan said.
“We would now work hard to achieve promises made in our election manifesto.”
Chandy, who will tender his resignation today morning, said he was taking responsibility for the defeat as the UDF chairperson.
“We were not expecting this. It’s a setback we have to ponder about,” he said. He is also unlikely to take up the mantle of the Leader of the Opposition.
In New Delhi, CPM leader Prakash Karat said the new chief minister would be decided today. “The state secretariat and state committee will meet in Thiruvananthapuram tomorrow to elect a leader.”
Celebrity winners include actors Mukesh (Kollam) and Ganesh Kumar (Pathanapuram) and losers are Jagadish (Pathanapuram) and cricketer Sreesanth (Thiruvananthapuram).
Two student leaders from the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Roji M John (Congress, Angamaly) and Mohamed Mohsin (CPI, Pattambi) also won.