UDF sweeps Ernakulam, Idukki; Thrissur gives Left silver lining

Kochi/Idukki: Amid the ignominious defeat, Thrissur district provided the silver lining for LDF, with the alliance winning nine out of the 13 seats. UDF secured the remaining four, including the prestigious Thrissur.LDF retained Chelakkara, Wadakkanchery, Kunnamkulam, Guruvayur, Manalur, Nattika, Kaipamangalam, Puthukkad and Ollur while UDF had to settle for Thrissur, Kodungallur, Irinjalakkuda and Chalakkudy.Despite Thrissur being BJP's lone Lok Sabha seat, the party failed to win any assembly seat in the district. In a closely watched Thrissur assembly segment, former Thrissur mayor Rajan Pallan drubbed BJP's Padmaja Venugopal by 26,803 votes.Several prominent leaders and former ministers had entered the fray this time. Revenue minister K Rajan and former local self-govt minister A C Moideen secured victories in Ollur and Kunnamkulam by 8,884 and 4,563 votes, respectively.Higher education and social justice minister R Bindu suffered a major setback in Irinjalakkuda, losing to UDF's Thomas Unniyadan by 10,212 votes.Nattika, which witnessed a political drama after former CPI leader and MLA C C Mukundan joined the BJP, also remained with the LDF. CPI's Geetha Gopi registered her fourth straight victory, by 7,093 votes.In closely fought Manalur, LDF's C Raveendranath won by 126 votes over UDF's T N Prathapan. In Guruvayur, CPM's N K Akbar defeated IUML's C H Rasheed by 1,998 votes, with NDA's B Gopalakrishnan ending up third.UDF wins all 14 in EkmUDF swept all 14 seats in its stronghold of Ernakulam, which followed its dominant performance in the 2024 general elections and last year's local body polls.The most significant win was seen in Kalamassery, where IUML regained the seat with V E Abdul Gafoor defeating incumbent industries minister P Rajeeve of CPM by 16,312 votes.UDF also achieved comfortable wins in constituencies where LDF had anticipated strong fights. Tony Chammany won in Vypeen by 15,648 votes while in Kochi, DCC president Mohammed Shiyas romped home by 8,188 votes. Despite the retirement of veteran Congress leader and long-time MLA K Babu, Deepak Joy secured Tripunithura seat by a substantial 18,456 votes.Notable victory margins include Thrikkakara (Uma Thomas, 50,211), Piravom (Anoop Jacob, 44,681), Muvattupuzha (Mathew Kuzhalnadan, 42,829), Angamaly (Roji M John, 37,008), Ernakulam (T J Vinod, 36,163), Aluva (Anwar Sadath, 29,143), Perumbavur (Manoj Moothedan, 28,434), Kunnathunad (V P Sajeendran, 21283), North Paravur (V D Satheesan, 20,600) and Kothamangalam (Shibu Theckumpuram, 16,859).UDF has been building momentum since the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, when incumbent MP Hibi Eden secured a massive mandate with 52.97% of the vote share. Its strength was further validated during the Dec 2025 local body elections. While LDF historically performs well in rural pockets, UDF emerged as the dominant force in urban centres, seizing control of 10 out of 13 municipalities (up from eight in 2020) and the Kochi corporation.Several socio-political factors contributed to UDF's sustained dominance in Ernakulam. The district's large middle class and professional population perceive UDF as more business-friendly compared to LDF. Also, the significant Christian and Muslim populations in the district have traditionally seen the UDF to further their interests and representative politics. Another reason is the robust organisational machinery of Congress party in the district, unlike many other regions in the state.Cong-led front sweeps IdukkiAfter nearly three-and-a-half decades, UDF has won five seats in Idukki, with Congress prevailing in four. Notably, Congress did not have an MLA in the district for 20 years. In a major upset, minister Roshy Augustine lost the Idukki seat by 23,822 votes to Congress's Roy K Paulose. In Udumbanchola, a CPM stronghold for 25 years, state secretariat member K K Jayachandran lost to Congress's Senapathy Venu by 20,021 votes.In Thodupuzha, Kerala Congress chairman P J Joseph's son, Apu John Joseph secured a historic victory by 44,291 votes — the highest in the district — defeating Syriac Chazhikadan of Kerala Congress (M). In Devikulam, another CPM bastion, sitting MLA A Raja lost to Congress's F Raja by 5,233 votes.In Peermade, Congress's Syriac Thomas defeated CPI district secretary K Salim Kumar by 27,634 votes.
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