Tuesday, September 27 2005 20:31 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Thiruvananthapuram: Continuing its winning streak in Kerala that began with last Lok Sabha polls, the Communist Party of India Marxist (CPI-M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) today (Sept 27, 2005) put up a sterling performance in the local body elections, handing down a crushing defeat to the ruling Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF).

In the keenly fought elections eight months ahead of the assembly polls, the LDF in a tie-up with DIC(K), led by K Karunakaran, made a clean sweep of all five city corporations and gained control of 30 of the 52 municipalities.

As results kept pouring in from village, block and district panchayats, the LDF is maintaining its supremacy in all but one district. The UDF, however, arrested the LDF surge in Muslim League-dominated Malappuram district to an extent.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which fought alone in around 12,000 seats, made some surprising gains in some pockets in Palakkad, Thrissur and Kasaragod districts. In Palakkad municipality, the party emerged as the single largest block, winning 17 seats, marginally ahead of the numbers secured by LDF and UDF.

While the LDF retained power in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kochi and Kozhikode corporations, it wrested the Thrissur Corporation from the UDF.

Reacting to the results, DIC(K) leader K Karunakaran said the fall of the UDF was the result of the Congress High Command neglecting his repeated warnings.

CPI(M) state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan said the UDF had lost the moral right to continue in power. KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala said the results could not be construed as a verdict against the Government.