Kerala’s Leader of the Opposition and CPM leader Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday said the local body byelection results reflected an erosion in the support that the UDF had secured in the Assembly elections, claiming that the decline in public support had occurred within four months of the UDF government assuming office. In a Facebook post welcoming the bypoll results, Vijayan attributed the change to power cuts, what he alleged was a deterioration of the health sector, the suspension of welfare measures and delays in development projects. He also alleged that the Chief Minister and ministers were misusing their positions through the “sponsorship of industrialists and power brokers” and claimed that the government had failed to provide timely relief to victims of natural disasters. Vijayan further alleged that the government was “devolving” into one that offered freebies to big corporates and the liquor lobby while implementing the Sangh Parivar agenda, and said the elections reflected what he described as people’s “deep resentment and distrust” towards the government. For the latest updates from Kerala, India and the UAE, Gold 101.3 FM, UAE’s No. 1 radio station, keeps listeners connected with the latest news and developments that matter to them. Vijayan said the LDF had performed strongly in several areas where the UDF had enjoyed a clear advantage in the previous local body elections, claiming that the LDF captured seven seats, including the sitting seats of two UDF MLAs. He cited the Thrikkodithanam division of the Kottayam district panchayat and the Paruthikav ward of Chittur municipality, where UDF MLAs had previously won, as examples of areas where the LDF made gains. He also pointed to sharp reductions in the UDF’s majorities in Mananthavady, Adoor, Perambra, Tripunithura and Vamanapuram. In a Kozhikode Corporation ward where a UDF MLA had earlier won by 2,273 votes, Vijayan said the UDF’s lead fell to 436 votes. He said the UDF lost three seats in Thiruvananthapuram district, while the LDF won five of the seven seats in Palakkad district. In the Kallara division, he said, the UDF’s majority fell from 5,683 to 3,019, with the seat being retained amid a decline in the BJP’s 4,155 votes. The LDF also won both seats contested in Kannur, capturing one from the UDF, while in Kottayam and Palakkad districts, the LDF captured two seats each from the UDF, Vijayan said. He described the results as a strong protest against what he termed the policy failures of the UDF government and said they were also a response from voters to those who had mocked the Left after its defeat in the Assembly elections. Vijayan said the results showed that Kerala would continue to value the Left, which, according to him, does not retreat in times of crisis and works alongside the people. He thanked LDF workers for their efforts and said the public support reflected in the bypolls would give the Left greater energy to work among the people, while describing the results as a strong warning to the UDF government.