Statewide rout: Chandy in trouble as Congress fares poorest in years

In central Kerala, for example, all Congress candidates who lost belong to the faction led by Chandy. During selection of candidates, Chandy had revolted against the high command decision to deny seats to K Babu, A T George and Dominic Presentation, all of whom lost to the LDF. Among 22 winners from Congress, 12 belong to the group led by Ramesh Chennithala, which makes him a natural choice for leader of the legislature party.

Said a party leader, “There may be developmental work and welfare activities, but people cannot bear corruption. The electorate, particularly the young, voted against a government that faced a volley of corruption charges.”

Elections 2016: Three Reasons Behind Each State Victory

Congress had been confident of retaining power expecting that CPM would lose its traditional vote bank of backward Hindus after Ezhava party Bharat Dharma Jana Sena joined hands with BJP. But CPM appears to have not only managed to retain its Hindu support but also taken away minority votes from Congress, by projecting that only the Left could protect secularism in Kerala against BJP. Chandy’s perceived soft approach towards Hindutva contributed to alienation of minorities.

The Chandy government had also been banking on its welfare schemes and development projects such as Vizhinjam sea port project. But even in Thiruvananthapuram district, where the port was touted as changing fortunes of people, it won only four of 14 seats.

Among other issues the Congress highlighted was its new liquor policy, expecting support of Christian and Muslim outfits. That made no impact either. The two groups appear to have deserted the party in North Kerala’s six districts, where Congress could win only four seats. Congress suffered the worst in Thrissur, where it won Vadakkanchery by 43 votes. Thrissur, one of its sure seats despite the local Catholic Church favouring Padmaja Venugopal, also voted against Congress.

Hours after trends indicated the CPM-led LDF coming to power in Kerala, Congress leader and Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said the debacle of the UDF was unexpected.

“We accept the verdict of the people. This setback was unexpected. During the electioneering and subsequent discussions, we got the feedback that the UDF would retain power. The verdict went against our expectation.The UDF and the Congress would discuss the outcome and make corrective steps,” he told reporters.

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