THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In the left wave, which lashed across the state in the last assembly polls, UDF lost 29 seats in Kerala. When Kottayam stood with UDF, the front lost in all other districts. Among other districts, the right front witnessed a humiliating defeat in the capital district. However, it was able to retrieve back four seats from the left camp. When the left font received 29 new seats, it lost five seats to UDF. Nemom, where BJP won for the first time in the state’s legislative history, is one among those five seats.

During the assembly by-polls, UDF had to sacrifice three more seats. These are Pala, Konni and Vattiyoorkavu and reclaimed one seat from LDF-Aroor. Thus the total loss of UDF is around 27 seats and LDF secured 23 seats. UDF is looking for a change that could alter these arithmetics. This time the right front needs to double up its efforts to improve its performance in Kollam, Alappuzha and Pathanamthitta districts, where it witnessed humiliating defeat in 2016. The situation is the same in Thiruvananthapuram where it has only three seats.

For Congress, it will be a do or die scenario in the A-class consistuencies in the south districts until Ernakulam. In the last assembly polls, UDF lost in the following constituencies: Kannur, Koothuparambu, Mananthavady, Kalpetta, Koduvalli, Thiruvambadi, Nilambur, Tanur, Pattambi, Chittoor, Manalur, Ollur, Thrissur, Kodungallur, Iringalakuda, Kochi, Tripunithura, Muvattupuzha, Kothamangalam, Chengannur, Aranmula, Chavara, Kazhakoottam, Parashala, Kattakada, Neyyattinkara. In Poonjar, as sitting MLA PC George fought and won the polls as an independent candidate that was also a loss for UDF.

Except, Koduvalli, Thiruvambadi, Tanur, Iringalakuda, Chavara and Eravipuram other 23 were the sitting seats of the Congress party. In 2011, CPM’s MLA from Neyyanttinkara, R Selvaraj later contested in the by-polls as Congress candidate and won the polls. That seat was again reclaimed by CPM in 2016.