'Vismayam' confirmed in Kerala! Record majority for Kunhalikutty, field day for CPM rebels, UDF completes comeback

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The UDF Tsunami wreaked havoc in the CPM strongholds and ended up amassing as many as 102 seats.

V.D. Satheesan, who said that he would secure a resounding victory by winning 100 seats, walked the talk. A few UDF candidates ended up winning seats that were not even in their plan. V D Satheesan’s statement of a big UDF surprise (vismayam) in the state came true on Monday.

Congress candidate Abdul Rasheed pushing Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to the brink of defeat in the first rounds of counting sent shivers down the LDF camp.

This is the best victory for the UDF since 1977. G. Sudhakaran, who contested as a rebel against the CPM, won brilliantly in Ambalappuzha, while CPM rebels V Kunhikrishnan in Payyannur and T.K. Govindan in Taliparamba scripted major upsets, rattling the party fortress in Kannur.

The arrogance of the left government was so much that people decided to show them the door. 13 of the 20 ministers who contested lost. This is the first time that the LDF has fallen to such a paltry number since the 2001 elections. League National General Secretary P.K. Kunhalikutty won a record majority of 85,327 votes.