Amid counting of votes for the 140 seats in Kerala is underway, , Kerala’s senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Sunday offered prayers at Puthuppally Church in Kottayam.

Leaders of both Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF) have expressed confidence of victory in the state polls. The exit polls had indicated that the ruling LDF will create history by getting re-elected but leaders of Congress-led UDF had rejected these surveys and expressed confidence of their alliance coming to power in the southern state.

Notably,  Kerala has been seeing LDF and UDF alternatively coming to power for nearly four decades. If the LDF bunks the trend under leadership of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, it will be scripting history.

LDF includes CPI(M), CPI, Kerala Congress(M) and some other smaller parties whereas UDF comprises Congress, Indian Union Muslim League, Kerala Congress, Revolutionary Socialist Party and other smaller parties. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has Bharath Dharma Jana Sena as its ally. Vijayan has steered the state through several challenges in the past five years including COVID-19.

If exit polls hold true, the 76-year-old CPI-M leader could become only the third Chief Minister in Kerala's history to be re-elected and the first to continue in office after completing a full term. 

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