Chennai: In a bitter fight between rival fronts, which are otherwise members of the INDIA bloc, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) is set to sweep the Lok Sabha polls in Kerala, leading in 18 of the 20 Lok Sabha seats.
The ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) is leading only in the Alathur constituency, where they had fielded minister and senior leader K. Radhakrishnan.
Bharatiya Janata Party is also set to win its first-ever Lok Sabha seat in the state with actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi leading in the Thrissur constituency with a margin of 74,686 votes, as of 4 PM.
Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and K.C. Venugopal are leading in the Wayanad and Alappuzha constituencies with a thumping majority. Apart from these seats, the Congress-led alliance is leading in key constituencies, such as Pathanamthitta (Anto Antony) and Kannur (K. Sudhakaran).
However, the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led LDF is staring at a major upset. The coalition is trailing in every seat, except in Alathur.
Among the prominent leaders, who are looking at a defeat, include former health minister K.K. Shailaja in Vadakara, former ministers Thomas Isaac (Pathanamthitta), V.S. Sunil Kumar (Thrissur), C. Raveendranath (Chalakkudy).
The CPI(M) is also trailing in Alappuzha, where the party had won its lone seat in 2019.
The Congress had contested 16 seats, while its allies Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) had contested two, followed by the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) and Kerala Congress (KEC), which contested one seat each.
As for the LDF, the CPI(M) had contested 15 seats, with four seats contested by the CPI and one by the Kerala Congress (M). The UDF had won 19 of the 20 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Since the BJP posed a triangular fight only in Thrissur and Thiruvananthapuram constituencies, the Lok Sabha polls were largely a battle between LDF and UDF.
Both members of the INDIA bloc, the Congress and the left parties fought tooth and nail, often engaged in a war of words against each other in Kerala, where they are traditional rivals. This dichotomy was highlighted by the BJP in its campaign.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)