The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) just about scraped through to victory in Kerala on Friday, with the Left Democratic Front (LDF) putting up a valiant fight in the battle for 140-member assembly.
The UDF won 72 seats, just one more than the 71 needed to form a government, a result that kept people and political parties on tenterhooks for more than five hours after vote count began at 8 a.m.
When the 2009 Lok Sabha election took place, the UDF had gained leads in as many as 100 assembly segments, giving the Congress the confidence that it would sweep the assembly polls.
'This was not what we expected,' said Opposition leader and former chief minister Oommen Chandy, who is again tipped to take over the reins of the state.
Text: Agencies
Images: Opposition leader Omman Chandy (C) and his supporters celebrate after his victory from the Puthuppally assembly constituency on Friday, May 13, 2011. (Photographs copyright PTI)
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