As the United Democratic Front surged ahead of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front in the 2026 Kerala Assembly elections, among the key winning candidates were Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala and VD Satheesan.
Chennithala won against Communist Party of India candidate TT Jismon from the Haripad seat by a margin of 23,377 votes. Satheesan secured a victory against the Communist Party of India’s ET Taison from the Paravur seat with a vote margin of 20,600.
The two Congress leaders are among the top contenders for the position of the chief minister if the United Democratic Front goes on to win the election.
In Puthuppally, Congress MLA Chandy Oommen, who is the son of former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, retained his home turf by a massive margin of 52,907 votes. He defeated CPI(M) candidate KM Radhakrishnan.
From the LDF, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan won against the Congress’ VP Abdul Rasheed in the Dharmadam constituency with a margin of 19,247 votes. The CPI(M) leader had been trailing Rasheed earlier in the day.
Vijayan had won the seat in 2021 by a margin of over 50,000 votes.
At least six ministers in the state also lost in their respective constituencies.
These include Veena George (Aranmula), MB Rajesh (Thrithala), R Bindu (Irinjalakuda), J Chinchurani (Chadayamangalam), P Rajeeve (Kalamassery), KB Ganesh Kumar (Pathanapuram) and Roshy Augustine (Idukki).
In another significant defeat for the LDF, CPI(M) MLA KK Shailaja lost against state Congress chief Sunny Joseph in Peravoor by a margin of 14,453 votes. Joseph had been seeking a fourth consecutive term from the seat.
Shailaja, widely known for her leadership as state health minister during the 2018 Nipah virus outbreak and the early phase of the Covid-19 pandemic, had shifted from Mattannur to contest the seat.
From Nemom, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Rajeev Chandrasekhar won against CPI(M) minister V Sivankutty by a slender margin of 4,978 votes.
The constituency was one of the most closely watched ones this time in the state. The BJP had won its only seat in Kerala here in 2016, before losing it in 2021 to Sivankutty by fewer than 4,000 votes.
The Hindutva party secured another win in Kazhakoottam, with party leader V Muraleedharan securing a victory against the CPI(M)’s K Surendran with a small margin of 428 votes.
Overall, the UDF has won 56 seats and was leading in 42, reports and data from the Election Commission showed as of 4.12 pm. The LDF had won 24 seats and was ahead in 11.
A party or an alliance needs 71 seats in the 140-member Assembly to secure a majority.
The counting began at 8 am. More than 880 candidates are contesting the polls. The polling in all 140 seats was held on April 9. A turnout of 79.6% was recorded.
Follow Scroll’s coverage of the 2026 Kerala Assembly elections here.
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