The LDF won 91 out of the 140 seats in the State, recording an impressive 42.7 per cent of the votes polled. The CPI(M) itself won 63 out of the 83 seats it contested. Prominent CPI(M) victors are: VS Achuthanandan, Pinarayi Vijayan, Thomas Isaac, A K Balan and giant killer M. Swaraj who won the prestigious battle in Trippunithara, humbling corruption-tainted K. Babu, who was excise minister in the outgoing Oommen Chandy Government.

The CPI camp is also overjoyed as the party put up a remarkable performance winning 19 out of the 27 seats it contested – 6 more than its tally of 13 in 2011. The CPI polled 8.1 per cent of the votes polled. What must boost the party’s morale further is that it managed to recapture three of its seats: Trissur(after 25 years!), Karunagappally and Nedumangad. Among the prominent CPI winners are C. Divakaran, V S Sunil Kumar and ES Bijimol.

The LDF established its supremacy in as many as 10 districts. The Front made a clean sweep of Kollam district, winning all the 11 seats on offer and all but one in Alappuzha(8 out of 9) and Trissur(12 out of 13). The tally for other districts it dominated are: Thiruvananthapuram(9 out of 14), Palakkad(9 out of 12), Kozhikode(11 out of 13), Kannur(8 out of 11), Pathanamthitta(4 out of 5), Kasargode(3 out of 5) and Idukki( 3 out of 5).

The LDF’s victory is being attributed to two developments.. First and foremost, the LDF benefited hugely from the continued support of the minorities, as in the local bodies elections. The minorities overwhelmingly voted for the LDF as they felt that the Congress-led UDF was not as aggressive in opposing the BJP-RSS combine as the LDF. This perception decisively tilted the scales in LDF’s favour.

Secondly, the BJP-BDJS combine cut more into the UDF votes this time around as in the local bodies polls. This was clear in a large number of minority-dominated constituencies. That way, the presence of BJP and BDJS candidates helped the LDF in a number of keenly contested seats in districts like Kollam, Alappuzha and Trissur.

The victory is also the fruit of a well-orchestrated campaign the LDF launched against corruption of the Chandy Government. This campaign was effectively led by VS Achuthanandan who unleashed an aggressive and tireless campaign blunting the edge of the counter-campaign launched by both the UDF and the B JP-BDJS alliance.

The Congress was reduced to just 22 seats – a steep fall from the 39 it won in 2011. Its allies, IUML also lost, its strength having gone down from 20 to 18. Cracks have developed in IUML’s malapppuram fort as the majority of its candidates came down sharply in at least six seats. Another ally, Kerala Congress(M) secured only 6 seats as against 9 it had in the outgoing assembly. Two other allies, RSP and JD(U) drew a blank. The Congress’s vote share also plummeted to 38.18 per cent – a steep fall by almost 7 per cent.

Among the prominent losers were ministers: K. Babu, Shibu Baby John(RSP) and P. K. Jayalakshmi. Speaker N. Shakthan and Deputy Speaker Palode Ravi also bit the dust.

The BJP is over the moon over the victory of party veteran, O. Rajagopal from Nemom constituency by a convincing margin of over 8000 votes. In the process, the party created history by opening its account in the Kerala Assembly. But there is disappointment in the BJP camp as the big saffron surge it had expected did not materialize. The only consolation is that its vote share has more than doubled. Also, party candidates came second in 7 constituencies. It also polled, on an average more than 5000 votes in almost all constituencies.

The results also show that the gains from its alliance with the newly-formed Bharat Dharma Jana Sena(B DJS) also fell far below its expectations.. Except in Chattanur and Malampuzha, the BDJS could not make its presence felt. Even in its strongest bastion of Kuttanad, the BDJS candidate came a poor third. But party leaders can draw comfort from the fact that it has managed to poll 4 per cen votes – the same as the KC(M). The BJP will have to reorient its strategy if it wants to emerge as a serious player on Kerala’s political stage. It will have to reach out to the minorities – both Muslims and Christians - and get more allies in future.

There are lessons for the LDF also to learn from this election. The LDF’s celebrations must be tempered by the realization that the saffron surge has only been halted, not stopped. The task is cut out for the LDF. It has to ensure that the BJP-BDJS alliance does not cut into its vote share in future – something which the front has avoided in this election.

As for the Congress, the crushing defeat is bound to sharpen the factional feud within the party. Already, the I group headed by outgoing home minister Ramesh Chennithala has signalled its intent to stake its claim for the post of leader of the opposition. Incidentally, the I group has 12 MLAs as against Ommen Chandy-led A group’s 9 among the Congress winners.

The Congress High Command must also share the blame for the dismal show of the Congress. It should have put its foot down by refusing to give tickets to tainted candidates. It failed to do so, bowing to Oommen Chandy’s threats. The result is there for all to see. Three of the tainted candidates Chandy insisted on being accommodated have lost. In hindsight, it must be admitted that KPCC president V M Sudheeran who opposed tickets for the tainted candidates stands vindicated.

The new Government is inheriting a bitter legacy of the UDF. The economy is in bad shape. The social divide is also very pronounced. The wounds inflicted by the UDF government’s anti-people policies must be healed and healed fast. Last but not the least, the LDF Government will have to address the aspirations of various sections of society. An awesome task, indeed.(IPA Service)