Kerala polls 2026: UDF breaches majority mark; Pinarayi Vijayan, 13 ministers trail

Describing the early trends as “encouraging”, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said that some “reasonably popular politicians” from the LDF are trailing. “I think it’s very clear that the Kerala electorate has to be congratulated. They have decided it’s time for a change. And even people whose individual popularity we are not disputing seem to be behind. This, I think, is a very good sign. And for us in the UDF, we are not going to make any premature celebrations. But I can see that it’ll take already a major reversal for things to look very different,” he said.

At least 14 ministers in the CPI(M)-led LDF cabinet are trailing on Monday with the counting of votes polled in the April 9 Assembly elections progressing across the state. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was also trailing in his sitting seat Dharmadam, considered his bastion and where his village Pinarayi falls.

According to various reports, ministers – Veena George, M B Rajesh, O R Kelu, R Bindhu, J Chinchurani, P Rajeev, K B Ganesh Kumar, V N Vasavan, V Sivankutty, V Abdurahiman, A K Saseendran and Roshy Augustine were trailing in their respective constituencies.

Vijayan’s rout, State Congress president Sunny Joseph said, was a result of his “anti-people policies”.

Congress MP Jebi Mather said, “We have crossed 89, just 11 seats to 100. It is beyond what the exit polls had projected. People of Kerala have gifted a decisive victory to Congress-led UDF. It is a moment of excitement, exuberance, and pride. We are thakful and grateful to the people of Kerala. This is also a reflection of how the CPI(M)-led LDF was a miserable failure and the anti-incumbency factor played very well…”

Counting is underway across 823 constituencies in key regions including West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Keralam, Assam, and the Union Territory of Puducherry.