UDF storms Kochi Corporation leaving LDF tottering at a historic low

The United Democratic Front (UDF) has registered a historic win, just as it had claimed ahead of the counting, in the Kochi Corporation by romping back to power with 47 seats — just one short of its best victory in the civic body in 2010, when it secured 48 seats, and well above the magic number of 39 in the 76-member council.

The Left Democratic Front (LDF) literally bit the dust, managing to win only 20 seats, in addition to two where it supported Independents, which was worse than its tally of 24 in 2010. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) managed to improve its tally by just one seat, reaching six, despite its claim that it would hit double digits in this election. Although the BJP contested as part of the National Democratic Alliance, all its allies, including the Bharath Dharma Jana Sena, drew a blank.

The UDF tally included the Vyttila division won by UDF-backed Independent V.P. Chandran, who had won on a CPI(M) ticket from the erstwhile Champakkara division in 2015. If Congress rebel Bastin Babu, who won as an Independent from the Chullickal division, also returns to the party fold, then the UDF’s final tally will once again touch the historic figure of 48.

In the pre-delimitation election of 2020, when the Corporation had only 74 divisions, no front managed to secure a simple majority. The CPI(M) emerged as the single largest bloc with 34 seats, while the UDF won 31 and the BJP five. The CPI(M) managed to wrest power with the support of two Independents.

The Mayor’s post remains reserved for women this term, and all of the UDF’s potential mayoral candidates — Deepthy Mary Varghese, V.K. Minimol, and Shiny Mathew — have won. This may prove a challenge for the front as discussions begin on selecting the mayoral nominee. The UDF has consistently stated that the parliamentary party meeting will choose the candidate, though this may be easier said than done.

The LDF had accused the UDF of striking an unholy nexus with the BJP in four divisions — Elamakkara South, Kaloor North, Kunnumpuram, and Ponnurunni East. Interestingly, the UDF and the LDF ended up sharing two seats each, with Elamakkara South and Kaloor North going to the UDF, and the LDF winning the other two.

Among the prominent losers was the LDF candidate from the Edappally division, Deepa Varma, who might have been considered for the Mayor’s post had the front won. Sunitha Dixon, who defected to the BJP after winning twice as a UDF candidate and later as an Independent, finished third behind CPI(M) winner Beena Divakaran and the UDF’s Jain Gray. Malini Kurup, a three-time Congress councillor from Girinagar who contested as an Independent after being denied a party ticket, also finished third behind winner P.D. Martin of the Congress and the BJP’s T.P. Sindhumol.

The UDF’s Antony Kureethara, who served as the Opposition leader in the last council, lost to the BJP’s T. Padmakumari in the Island North division. Incidentally, his defeat was the first result to be declared in the Corporation.

Things looked completely different in the initial hour of counting when the LDF seemed on course for a second consecutive term as it ran away with lead and at one time leading in double the number of divisions compared to the UDF. However, the trend changed slowly but decisively since then as they kept on turning tables on the LDF in division after division.