Keralam Assembly polls result 2026: Vijayan resigns as chief minister after LDF defeat

Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday resigned as Keralam Chief Minister following the Left Democratic Frontrsquos LDF crushing defeat in the April 9 assembly elections ending a decadelong tenure in office PTI reportedGovernor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar accepted the resignation and requested Vijayan to continue as caretaker chief minister until alternative arrangements are made according to a Raj Bhavan statementUDF sweeps to power with decisive mandateThe Congressled United Democratic Front UDF secured a resounding victory winning 102 seats in the 140member Assembly while the CPIMled LDF managed just 35 seats according to Election Commission dataThe Bharatiya Janata Party BJP opened its account in the state assembly by winning three seatsEnd of Left rule in stateThe outcome marks the end of Left governance in Keralam and significantly its absence from power in any Indian state for the first time in five decadesStrong antiincumbency and consolidation of votes in favour of the UDF were seen as key factors behind the sweeping verdictMajor setbacks for LDF leadersThe electoral setback was severe for the ruling front with 13 ministers losing their seats Among the few winners from the outgoing cabinet were Vijayan himself P A Mohamed Riyas K N Balagopal and Saji CherianSeveral senior leaders including LDF convenor TP Ramakrishnan also lost their constituenciesCongress leaders emerge as CM contendersSenior Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala and VD Satheesan retained their seats with comfortable margins positioning themselves as frontrunners for the chief ministerrsquos postBJP makes limited breakthroughThe BJP made modest gains by winning three seats including Nemom and Kazhakoottam in Thiruvananthapuram district and Chathannoor in KollamRajeev Chandrasekhar V Muraleedharan and BB Gopakumar were among the partyrsquos winnersCongress thanks votersCongress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra thanked voters for their support saying the mandate would guide the UDF in delivering on its promisesldquoWe will work towards building a better future with honesty and humilityrdquo she said in a post on XLDF to review defeatCPIM state secretary MV Govindan said the party would analyse the reasons behind the defeat and take corrective measuresldquoThe LDF will evaluate and study the defeat and undertake organisational changesrdquo he saidRejection of misruleCongress leader KC Venugopal termed the verdict a rejection of ldquomisrulerdquo while BJP leaders described the outcome as an antiCPIM voteThe results also saw rebel leaders who joined the UDF breach traditional Left strongholds signalling a broader political shift in the state With PTI inputs