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Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 3 (IANS) In a break from tradition, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) has taken an early lead ahead of the Kerala local body elections, announcing its first list of 48 candidates for the prestigious Thiruvananthapuram Corporation much ahead of the official election notification.
The move, which is rare for a party often criticized for getting off to a late start, signals an assertive and proactive strategy by the Congress to regain lost ground in the state capital, where the Left has long been dominant.
Opposition leader VD Satheesan on Monday flagged off the UDF campaign rally, which will cover all 101 wards of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation.
Veteran Congress leader and former Minister of State K. Muraleedharan, late Chief Minister K. Karunakaran’s son is leading the UDF campaign in the city.
In a surprise move, the party has fielded former MLA KS Sabarinathan in Kavadiyar ward, located in the heart of Thiruvananthapuram. This is the first time in Kerala that a former MLA has been fielded in a municipal election, underscoring Congress’s intention to mount a serious, high-profile challenge.
The CPI-M has held the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation for several terms, with the BJP emerging as the principal opposition in the last two election cycles, while the Congress has slipped to third place.
By declaring the names of its candidates early and fielding key personalities, the Congress hopes to re-establish political dynamism in the capital and introduce a new sense of organizational discipline and urgency.
The State Election Commission is expected to soon announce the local body election schedule, covering almost all the 1,200 local self-government institutions in Kerala – including 941 gram panchayats, 152 block panchayats, 14 district panchayats, 87 municipalities and six municipal corporations.
Only Mattanur Municipality, which follows a different electoral cycle, will not go to the polls this time.
In the 2020 local body elections, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) got 40.2 per cent of the votes, followed by the UDF at 37.9 per cent and the BJP-led NDA at 15 per cent.
During that election, the Left won 314 gram panchayats, 198 block panchayats, 11 district panchayats, 43 municipalities and five corporations, while the UDF won 321, 38, three, 41 and one seats respectively. BJP won 19 gram panchayats and three municipalities.
Last month, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, during a meeting with state BJP leaders, had set a target of 25 per cent vote share for the NDA in Kerala – a statement that drew sharp criticism from Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who warned people against a “dangerous agenda”.
Widely seen as the “semi-final” ahead of next year’s assembly elections, the upcoming local body elections are expected to serve as an important barometer of grassroots political sentiment in Kerala, with all three major fronts – LDF, UDF and NDA – gearing up for a high-stakes electoral battle.
–IANS
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