It is no surprise that the landslide victory of UDF candidate Uma Thomas in the Thrikkakara Assembly constituency by-election has caused surprise and disbelief among the LDF leadership and ranks. They did not expect such a defeat. Apart from fact that a victory would have increased its strength in the assembly to 100, the Thrikkakkara by-election was not so crucial for the Pinarayi government, which is in its second term. However, the UDF needed to retain the seat which became vacant following the death of Congress leader PT Thomas. Not only did they succeed brilliantly in that mission, but they underlined that they were not the ones to be written off.

PT Thomas was beyond controversy and widely accepted among the people, regardless of party affiliation. It is not wrong to describe the record success of his wife Uma Thomas in Thrikkakara as unparalleled. No one can say that the UDF has achieved this on the basis of sympathy alone. In any case, this is a major political victory for the UDF. Although Thrikkakkara has been a sitting seat of the UDF for several years, all the favourable facilities of the government were there to support the LDF candidate. The whole regime came to the aid of the LDF candidate, Dr Joe Joseph. For the first time, Kerala witnessed an election in which so many leaders of the ruling party and the opposition campaigned simultaneously.

Even election analysts were astonished by Uma Thomas's majority of 25016 votes. Even on the eve of the counting of votes, there were absolute concerns regarding the result in the political circles. Leaders of both sides had expressed concerns as the turnout was not as high as expected. It has been proven once again that even the consistent result forecasters have not been able to read the minds of voters. Voters may have been influenced by their love towards the late leader or their respect towards the wife of the late leader or the silent protest against some of the actions of the LDF government. It was a rare sight to see the CPM district leadership conceding defeat and giving a public statement just after three rounds of counting. At that time, Uma Thomas was advancing with a lead of over 9,000. The opponent was never able to overcome this lead or even get anywhere close. Uma Thomas was able to give the Congress and the UDF an authoritative and clear victory in every sense.

The UDF's unusually fast pace in deciding the candidates was enough to dampen the opposition in the first instance. The announcement regarding Uma Thomas's candidature came a day after the Election Commission announced the poll date. Systematic campaign works followed. The LDF's error in determining the candidates was widely criticized. Dr Joe Joseph was given the ticket by withdrawing the candidate found by the district leadership. It also caused a lot of controversies. But none of this can be said to have contributed to Uma Thomas's unprecedented success. This is a victory that the UDF can proudly highlight in the current political climate. Thrikkakara has not yet heard the usual allegations of vote-buying and vote-rigging during the assessment of election results. This is a victory that brings joy and relief to KPCC President K Sudhakaran, Opposition Leader VD Satheesan and other UDF leaders who led the campaign.

It would be foolish to describe the Thrikkakara election results, which came out shortly after the conclusion of the first anniversary celebrations of the second Pinarayi government, as a verdict against the government. One has to admit that this political verdict was a setback to the government. The LDF leaders can find relief in the fact that UDF only managed to retain their sitting seat. At the same time, the government should not ignore the adverse reaction from voters. Any action that offends a large section of the population will backfire politically. Although there is no major link between Thrikkakara and the SilverLine project, the Opposition has tried to highlight the project as a core campaign issue. Developmental projects become more popular when they are implemented with the support of all sections of the people.

Although the LDF suffered a defeat in the election, it did not lose much of its vote share. As usual, it was the BJP lost most of its popular base. The current situation is much lower than the 15483 votes cast in the last election. The election result can also be seen as people's criticism of the attitude of the police that shows different approaches to the same issue. The campaign had exercised complete restraint and modesty in the early days. However, towards the end, it went astray and cast a shadow over the political enlightenment of the state. This is a nasty trend that needs to be ripped off in the very beginning. In short, the result in Thrikkakkara imparts lessons for both fronts to improve and correct.