UDF Maintains Stronghold as Suresh Gopi Shines in Kerala Polls

The Congress-led UDF continues to maintain a strong lead in Kerala's majority of seats as the final phase of EVM ballot counting progresses. Suresh Gopi of the BJP secured a significant margin in central Kerala. Notable performances from UDF's Rahul Gandhi and other leaders were seen across their respective constituencies.

The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) has retained its dominance in the majority of seats in Kerala as the final phase of EVM ballot counting progresses. UDF candidates continue to hold comfortable leads in their strongholds, outpacing rivals from the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

In a remarkable shift, actor-politician Suresh Gopi, representing the BJP, has ended the party's electoral drought in Kerala. Gopi secured a substantial margin of 75,079 votes in the central Kerala constituency, besting his nearest rivals from both the LDF and the UDF.

Noteworthy performances were also recorded by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency and many other sitting MPs from the UDF and its allies, who showcased robust leads as the counting proceeded.

Mirroring the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, where the Left managed to secure only one seat, the current trends highlight significant defeats for ruling CPI(M)-led alliance candidates, even in their traditional bastions like Kasaragod, Kannur, Vadakara, and Palakkad.

Nonetheless, CPI(M)’s K Radhakrishnan has maintained a lead over Congress’ Ramya Haridas in the Alathur seat, while V Joy, the party’s candidate in Attingal, slightly increased his margin against Congress’ Adoor Prakash by over 4,000 votes.

UDF candidates Dean Kuriakose (Congress) from Idukki and N K Premachandran (RSP) from Kollam Lok Sabha seats are leading by significant margins over their nearest competitors, according to latest trends.

Meanwhile, the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat witnessed a closely contested battle between Congress and BJP, with Congress’s Shashi Tharoor reclaiming a comfortable lead over BJP’s Rajeev Chandrasekhar.