The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) celebrated a resounding victory in Kerala’s assembly elections, ending the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front’s (LDF) decade-long rule. Outgoing Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who resigned on Monday after Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar accepted it, arrived in the capital from Kannur on Tuesday, with his purpose unclear.
Veteran Congress leader A K Antony urged UDF bosses to govern with humility, warning against repeating LDF’s “mistakes.” “People are the real masters,” he told reporters, emphasizing leaders must align with public sentiment.
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Speculation over the next chief minister intensified. Posters of Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal sprang up along Trivandrum Road amid victory festivities. Shashi Tharoor, pressed on his prospects, sidestepped coyly: “I know exactly what you’re trying to get me to say. I’m not saying any of that.”
Kerala Congress President Sunny Joseph pinned LDF’s loss on Vijayan’s “authoritarian leadership.” In Kannur, he noted Vijayan trailed in his own constituency—once won by 50,000 votes, before scraping a narrow win. “He was responsible for all these things,” Joseph told media.
As UDF gears up, the focus shifts to leadership picks and governance promises. Keralites await a new era post-LDF’s welfare-heavy but controversial tenure.
Will Shashi Tharoor be new Kerala CM?
Amid ongoing leadership debates in Congress, Shashi Tharoor drew spotlight on counting day as reporters probed his potential as Kerala’s next chief minister. He responded with caution, sidestepping a straight answer: “I know exactly what you’re trying to get me to say. I’m not saying any of that. The answer is very clear,” he said, neither confirming nor quashing the growing speculation about his candidacy.
