Kerala polls: Congress fails even with history on its side

Comrade Pinarayi Vijayan created history by winning a second consecutive mandate for the alliance he has been leading as the chief minister of Kerala. The Left Democratic Alliance (LDF) retained the power in the results announced Sunday allowing Vijayan to helm the God’s Own Country for another five years. The power in the state has been alternating between the ruling LDF and the Opposition, United Development Front (UDF), for the last forty years. The UDF led by the Congress was, based on the past trend, supposed to take over the reins of the state but lost to a formidable opponent in chief minister Vijayan. BJP could not win a single seat in the Left-ruled state. The LDF ended up winning a landslide 99 seats in the 140-member assembly. Rahul Gandhi, who was seen campaigning for the UDF coalition, incidentally, is a member of parliament from Kerala.