With the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) set to reclaim Kerala, leading in 96 of the 140 seats, party leader Shashi Tharoor stressed on Monday morning that there are “enough contenders” for
the chief ministerial post, pointing to the change of policy and a “revival of Kerala”.
“I think right now we’ve got enough contenders. What matters now is that there should be a change of government, a change of policy and a revival of Kerala. I hope that I can count on my ideas also being of some use to the new government, but my message will certainly be development, completely changing the disastrous fiscal situation, really doing essential work to make Kerala once again a haven for investment, so that we can grow, generate jobs for our people and prevent a situation where our young people are fleeing the state because they feel they have no possibilities,” he told ANI.
A day earlier, Tharoor had said the election results could mark a significant shift, with the LDF facing the prospect of losing its only remaining government of India.
“I would agree that the most important story that will come out of this from tomorrow is that it will be the first time that the LDF is not in power anywhere in the country,” he said.
Kerala’s politics has long been defined by a near-predictable cycle, with power alternating between the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) every five years. That pattern was broken in 2021, when the LDF secured a rare second consecutive term, defying the state’s entrenched anti-incumbency trend.
“Exit polls in our country have lots of problems. I don’t want to particularly rely on them, but they have all agreed with each other, which is amazing. Unanimous conclusion. All the experts, the journalists, the observers, and political analysts from various parties whom I have spoken to since the 4th of April, they’re all unanimous that this is going to be a UDF win. So, it would be an astonishing result if it were not that kind of win. So, I think we’re here to see what comes in tomorrow morning, but I’m expecting by mid-morning it will be a very clear and convincing narrative in our favour,” a Congress MP said.
