Upperhand for Congress-led UDF in local body bypolls in 31 wards in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 11 (PTI) The Congress-led UDF opposition in Kerala on Wednesday won the by-elections in 16 of the 31 local wards in various districts of the state and even wrested some seats from the ruling CPI(M).


The CPI(M)-led LDF won in 11 wards, the BJP-headed NDA won in three and one seat went to an independent candidate, according to figures released by the State Election Commission (SEC).



Hailing the UDF win, Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan said the results indicate the strong anti-incumbency sentiments of the people in the state.



"The resounding victory of the UDF in the by-elections underlines the opposition's argument that there is no government in Kerala. This victory will energise UDF for the 2025 local body polls," the opposition leader said.



He said that the people will throw out the present government which was allegedly "full of corruption and nepotism and was anti-people".



Satheesan said the opposition was able to maintain the winning streak it achieved in the recent by-elections with its latest wins in the local body by-polls.



He said the UDF was able to increase its share in the seats and ended LDF rule in three panchayats.



Besides that, the opposition captured nine seats from the LDF, Satheesan claimed.



The LoP congratulated the candidates, party colleagues and workers who worked hard to ensure the victory.



The by-polls were announced in the wards after the seats fell vacant owing to various reasons.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)