The ruling Left Democratic Front in Kerala on Friday won 22 of the 44 local body seats where bye-elections were recently held, The Indian Express reported. The United Democratic Front, led by the Congress, won 17 seats while the Bharatiya Janata Party secured five.
Elections were held in 33 village panchayat wards, six block panchayat wards and five municipality wards.
The Left Democratic Front has taken control of six local body wards from the United Democratic Front, while losing seven to the UDF. In Kollam district, the UDF won three of the four wards that went to polls, whereas in Pathanamthitta and Kozhikode districts, it won all wards which were held by the Left alliance.
The United Democratic Front won all the four panchayat wards in Thrissur district, and made gains in Kottayam and Thiruvananthapuram districts. The BJP has retained the ward in Palakkad district, and wrested a ward from the UDF in Alappuzha district.
The results of the bye-elections are a relief for the Left-led alliance that suffered a drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) won a single seat in the General Elections, despite the LDF being in power in the state. The Congress swept the Lok Sabha polls in the state, winning 15 seats.
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