New Delhi: The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) is heading for a big win in the Kerala Assembly elections, with counting trends indicating a return to power after a decade, ending the rule of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
According to the Election Commission of India (ECI) trends at 1:30 p.m., the UDF is leading in 94 out of 140 seats, comfortably crossing the majority mark. ECI data showed Indian National Congress (INC) leading on 62 seats, while IUML and KEC were ahead on 22 and 7 seats respectively. The LDF is trailing with leads in around 39 constituencies, while the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is ahead in two seats.
Celebrations were witnessed at the Congress headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram to mark the party’s strong performance.
Despite the early setback, CPI(M) General Secretary M. A. Baby urged caution, saying trends could shift in later rounds.
Among notable contests, Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP) leader K. K. Rema is heading for victory in Vadakara.
The counting process, conducted under tight security, began with postal ballots followed by Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) rounds, with real-time updates being provided by the ECI.
Polling for the Assembly elections was held on April 9 across 140 constituencies, with a voter turnout of 78.27 per cent. As per ECI, a total of 883 candidates are in the fray.
(DD News)
