THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After getting power in a majority of local bodies in the state, the Left front has more reasons to cheer. The LDF was able to increase its vote share by around 7% compared to the the last Lok Sabha elections when it was reduced to just one seat, the CPM state secretariat has observed. The front has had an upper hand in 99 assembly constituencies. The difference in vote share between the LDF and UDF -- which was 12 percent in 2019 with UDF leading -- turned out to be four per cent this time with LDF leading.
The party which assessed the poll results on Friday also looked into the reasons for the BJP’s gains in certain party strongholds in the state. According to the vote share assessed by the CPM secretariat, based on reports from party district units, the Left front increased its vote share from 35.1% in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to 42.53% in the recent local body elections. however, compared to 2016 assembly polls when the LDF polled around 43.35% votes, the vote share is slightly low.
On the other hand, the Opposition UDF’s vote share declined by around 9% -- from 47.23 in 2019 LS polls to 38.66 this time. This fetched LDF more seats. The BJP, which hoped to make major gains in this poll, couldn’t match its tall claims, observed the CPM. Compared to the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP’s vote share remained more or less the same, with the NDA polling around 15.56% this time while it was 15.20% in 2019.
In the 2016 assembly elections, the BJP-led front had gained 15.1% votes while the vote share was around 16.11% in the 2015 local body polls. The two-day CPM state committee meet to begin on Saturday will carry out a detailed analysis of the poll results and chart out the way forward.