UDF notches up gains in block and grama panchayats

The United Democratic Front (UDF) surged to impressive gains in grama and block panchayats, managing to keep the Left front at bay in the local body elections in the State.

The UDF racked up wins in 505 of the 941 grama panchayats, while the Left Democratic Front (LDF) tally came to 340 panchayats.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) had 26 panchayats in its kitty, and ‘Others’ six. There was a tie in 64 grama panchayats.

In 2020, the LDF had won 514 grama panchayats and the UDF 375 grama panchayats.

Among grama panchayats, the UDF coasted to victory in Ernakulam with 66 grama panchayats, against 48 in 2020 (of the total 82 panchayats), and in Malappuram with 87 panchayats.

It also won a sizeable chunk of panchayats in Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Idukki, Kozhikode, Wayanad, and Kasaragod.

The LDF was the winner in Kannur winning 48 panchayats. The front also recorded wins in Kollam, Alappuzha, Thrissur, and Palakkad. In Thiruvananthapuram where it governed 52 of 73 grama panchayats, its share has come down to 35. In Alappuzha, it governed 53 of 72 panchayats in 2020, but this came down to 36 this time.

Of the panchayats that swung the NDA way, six were in Thiruvananthapuram and five in Alappuzha. However, the NDA could not win any in Idukki, Ernakulam, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, and Kannur.

Among the 152 block panchayats in the State, the UDF won 79 and the LDF 63. The NDA could not open its account in any block panchayat, and there was a tie in 10 of them.

The UDF performed strongly in Pathanamthitta bagging seven of the eight block panchayats, one more than what the LDF had secured in 2020. It also won 12 of 14 in Ernakulam, seven of eight in Idukki, and nine of 11 in Kottayam. In its stronghold of Malappuram, it netted 14 of the 15 blocks, and in Wayanad secured all four block panchayats.

The LDF did well in Kannur to win eight of the 11 block panchayats and eight of 12 in Kozhikode. However, this was lower than the 10 it had won in both districts in 2020.

In Palakkad, the LDF won nine of 13 block panchayats, in Thrissur 10 of 16, and in Alappuzha where it won seven of 12. In Kollam, LDF won seven of 11 block panchayats, and in Kasaragod four of six.

In Thiruvananthapuram, UDF registered wins in six block panchayats as compared to LDF’s five block panchayats, as per the latest available data.

In 2020, the LDF had won 108 of 152 block panchayats.