LDF Wins Big, as BJP Bites the Dust in Local Body Bypolls in Sabarimala

NEW DELHI:   The massive victory of the Left Democratic Front  (LDF)  in the local body polls in Sabarimala dealt a severe blow to BJP/RSS, which tried to whip up a frenzy in Kerala over the issue of allowing women (aged 10 to 50) into the temple, as per the Supreme Court’s order.

In the recently held local body bypolls, the LDF, led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) won 21 of the 39 seats, as per reports, followed by the Congress which won 12 seats.

“Here are the total votes in the 39 local gov by-elections in 2015 and 2018 in Kerala: BJP votes declined from 11118 to 9869 and UDF from 26722 to 26092 while LDF improved from 34324 to 34780. LDF won 21, UDF 11 and BJP 2 seats. So much for the political fallout of Sabarimala!” tweeted Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac.According to The Citizen, the elections covered 27 panchayat wards, five block panchayat words, six municipality wards and one corporation ward, covering 14 districts of the state.

Significantly, the BJP was not able to win from the Pathanamthitta muncipality (the Sabarimala temple is in this district) with the Congress party that held the seat earlier, also losing to a rebel candidate, the report said. It was in this areas that BJP and Sangh Parivar lead several protest marches against the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government on the Sabarimala issue.

If the local body bypoll results are any indication, the BJP and its parent, Sangh Parivar, which has unleashed an ugly campaign to divide the people of Kerala, with the BJP president Amit Shah openly defying the Supreme Court’s order, have been given a fitting answer by the people in the district which houses the Sabarimala Temple.

The LDF had countered the Sangh Parivar’s divisive campaign by going to the people and holding rallies to expose the designs of the saffron party to spread misinformation among the devotees of Lord Ayappa. The LDF has always held that the Kerala voter differentiates between faith and politics, something that the latest local body bypoll results have reconfirmed.