Newly Elected Members to Local Bodies Assume Office Across Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: Elected members in the recent local body elections in Kerala were sworn in and formally assumed office across the state. The oath-taking ceremonies began at 10 am in the three-tier panchayats and municipalities, while in corporations the proceedings started at 11.30 am. The term of the outgoing administrative bodies had ended on Saturday.

The elections for chairpersons and mayors in municipalities and corporations will be held on the 26th at 10.30 am, while the elections for deputy chairpersons and deputy mayors are scheduled for 2.30 pm the same day. In the three-tier panchayat system, the president elections will take place on the 27th at 10.30 am, followed by vice-president elections at 2.30 pm.

In the local body elections, with both open and secret help from communal forces like Jammat-e-Islami, SDPI and BJP, UDF emerged with an advantage. The UDF retained control of Kannur and won the Ernakulam and Thrissur corporations, while the LDF gained an upper hand in Kozhikode. In Thiruvananthapuram, where the BJP emerged as the single largest party, and in Kollam, where the UDF is the single largest party, no alliance secured a clear majority. In district panchayats, the result stood evenly split at 7–7 between LDF and UDF. The UDF also made gains in village and block panchayats and municipalities.

In several places, including the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation and Paravur Municipality, where the BJP emerged as the single largest party, LDF candidates lost by very narrow margins. In the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, the BJP won 41 wards, while the UDF slipped to third position with a significant drop in votes. In seven wards, LDF candidates were defeated by margins ranging from 11 to 60 votes, underlining how closely contested the elections were.