Kerala By-Election Results
LDF Gains Ground While UDF Faces Setbacks In Kerala Local By-Elections
Anonymous
Kerala’s September 28 by-elections across 38 local-body wards in 12 districts were the first electoral test since the Congress-led UDF won the Assembly election in May. The UDF won 19 seats, the LDF 18 and Twenty20 one; compared with the previous results, the LDF gained seven wards and the UDF four. In Ernakulam, the UDF retained both seats it contested, while Twenty20 held Kolencherry East. Turnout was 58.81%, well below the Assembly election’s roughly 80%, and the limited number of wards makes the results an imperfect measure of the government’s broader standing. The losses prompted calls within the Congress to examine the reasons for the setback.
Key Points
1
The by-elections were triggered by vacancies for several different reasons, including sitting ward members leaving to serve in the Assembly and elected representatives resigning after securing jobs overseas.
2
In Chittur-Thathamanagalam municipality, the LDF edged the UDF only after their candidates tied at 423 votes and the winner was decided by drawing lots. In another closely watched vacancy, the CPI(M)’s Manju Sujith won the Thrikodithanam district panchayat division by 2,140 votes.
3
Twenty20 contested Kolencherry East independently rather than under the NDA banner after its decision to join the BJP-led alliance had prompted the previous member’s resignation. Its candidate won by 96 votes, improving the party’s margin from 49 votes in the 2025 local election.
4
The poll involved 126 candidates—62 women and 64 men—with 385 polling stations serving 309,713 registered voters, including four transgender voters.
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