Thiruvananthapuram: The Congress-led UDF surged ahead in Kerala on Monday as counting of votes for the April 9 Assembly elections gathered pace, with early trends showing a clear advantage for the opposition alliance in lines with exit poll predictions.
After the first few rounds of counting, the United Democratic Front was leading in 100 of the 140 Assembly seats, while the CPI(M)-led ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) was ahead in just in 40 constituencies.
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was leading in only one seat, according to television reports.
As the United Democratic Front crossed the halfway mark in early counting trends in Kerala, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor welcomed the development, calling it a sign of voters seeking change after a decade.
Tharoor said the party represents a shift in political direction and stressed the need for a “new kind of politics” following what he described as 10 years of poor governance.
On the question of leadership in Keralam, Tharoor said the party would not rush into a decision. He added that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge would appoint a representative to consult newly elected MLAs, after which the party’s high command would take a final call in line with its established process.
Having had to contend with just one assembly seat from the capital district in 2021, the UDF managed to make gains in five seats out of 14, while CPM managed to take the lead in eight.
BJP’s Rajeev Chandrasekharan has been the lone shining star for the saffron party as he managed to edge CPM heavyweight V Sivankutty in Nemom by 1972 votes after three rounds of counting.
