Ruling Congress-led UDF in Kerala on Saturday suffered a setback in the civic elections, billed as the semifinal ahead of next year’s assembly polls, as CPI-M -led LDF won a majority of local bodies while BJP made inroads improving its performance.
According to the results of the two-phased polls to the three-tier civic bodies held on November 2 and 5, LDF took control of four of the six city corporations, as many as 45 of the 86 municipalities and was way ahead in grama panchayats bagging 545 of the 941 at stake. With UDF winning only two corporations, 40 municipalities and 366 grama panchayats, the Left front and BJP were quick to demand the resignation of Chief Minister Ommen Chandy, who led the ruling front’s campaign.
BJP, which has so far failed to taste success in assembly and Parliament polls in the state, won one municipality and 14 grama panchayats, but made significant inroads in several places especially Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Palakkad.