The Congress-led UDF in Kerala emerged victorious in the byelections to the local bodies of the state as it won 17 of the 33 wards where polls were held the results of which were announced on Wednesday.

The CPI-M-led ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) suffered a setback at a time when the government’s mass outreach programme ‘Nava Kerala Sadas’ is progressing. The LDF with 12 seats managed to win only 10 seats.

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While the BJP-led NDA won four seats, the AAP won in one seat. One seat has gone to an independent candidate.

The results are being considered as a public referendum on the current political scenario in the state, ahead of the Lok Sabha election.

Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan claimed that there is a UDF wave in the civic body bypolls. Of the 17 seats won by UDF, the front wrested five from the LDF, he said. Compared to the results in 2020 local body elections, we won six more seats, he said.

KPCC president K Sudhakaran said that the election results were a reflection of the poor governance of the Pinarayi Vijayan government in Kerala.