THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A silence that set early in stayed through the day at the AKG Centre as Assembly poll counting turned in favour of the UDF, leaving leaders and workers of the LDF watching the verdict unfold with little to say. The counting was followed with cautious anticipation that slowly gave way to unease by the end of the day.
Party State secretary M V Govindan and state secretariat member P K Biju were among those present when counting began. Speaking to the media in the morning, Govindan expressed confidence in a favourable outcome and urged patience as trends emerged but as LDF faced a devastating defeat with just 35 seats, the party secretary in the evening told media that the result will be studied and corrective measures will be taken.
Inside the headquarters, the atmosphere was subdued from the outset. The television screen drew attention, conversations were brief, and eyes remained glued on the incoming leads from postal votes.
By around 9 am, as early trends began to tilt towards the UDF, the atmosphere shifted perceptibly. Conversations thinned out. The already quiet halls slipped into near-total silence and it remained largely still for the rest of the day. Around 9.45 am, with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan trailing in Dharmadom by the third round, the channel was switched to Kairali News. Though other channels were checked briefly, the screen returned to Kairali, which focused on constituencies where LDF candidates held leads.
As the leads firmed up, the crowd inside AKG centre began to thin. Party workers who had arrived early with anticipation slowly stepped out.