Jubilant UDF workers celebrating their victory in the Thrissur Corporation on Saturday.
| Photo Credit: K.K. Najeeb
The United Democratic Front (UDF) has staged a decisive comeback in the Thrissur Corporation after 10 years, winning an absolute majority and delivering a clear verdict against the much-touted “Suresh Gopi effect.”
The Congress-led front emerged victorious in 33 divisions, comfortably crossing the halfway mark in the 56-member council. The Left Democratic Front (LDF) secured 11 seats, while the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won eight, with four Independent candidates also making it to the Corporation.
After being confined to the Opposition benches for two consecutive terms, the UDF went all out this time to overcome that fatigue — and its determination has not gone in vain. The UDF, however, narrowly lost the Kottapuram division, where the contest ended in a tie after both the UDF and the NDA candidates polled an equal number of votes, forcing the decision to be settled by a toss.
Laly James, UDF candidate from Lalur division of the Thrissur Corporation, celebrating her victory with daughter, Maria, on Saturday.
| Photo Credit:
K.K. NAJEEB
The outcome marks a sharp turnaround from the 2020 elections, when the UDF fell just short of power in dramatic fashion. That election had produced a rare deadlock with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) winning six seats and the remaining 49 split evenly between the LDF and the UDF at 24 each. The stalemate elevated Independent councillor M.K. Varghese to the role of kingmaker, a position that eventually saw him become the Mayor.
Mandate for change
This time, however, the UDF’s commanding lead has rendered the Independents politically inconsequential, underscoring a clear and unambiguous mandate for change in the city.
Equally notable is the absence of any visible “Suresh Gopi wave.” The BJP had entered the civic polls with high hopes, banking on Union Minister Suresh Gopi’s sweeping victory in the 2024 Lok Sabha election and his strong performance across the Thrissur Corporation divisions. Party leaders had openly spoken of “capturing Thrissur” by replicating the parliamentary success at the local body level.
That projection, however, fell short. While the NDA marginally improved its tally — from six seats in 2020 to eight this time — it failed to achieve the breakthrough it had promised, unlike its gains in Thiruvananthapuram. Still, the NDA did manage to establish a notable presence in the core areas of the city, signalling pockets of growing influence.
For the UDF, the verdict represents a decisive correction of what it once described as the “slip between the cup and the lip.” With voters consolidating firmly behind the Congress-led alliance, the Corporation appears set for a clear change of guard. However, the defeat of sitting councillor and Kerala Pradesh Congress Committeesecretary John Daniel in the Patturaikkal division, at the hands of NDA candidate A. V. Krishnamohan, came as a setback for the UDF.
‘Fitting reply’
“The people had been waiting to give a fitting reply to 10 years of corruption, mismanagement and poor governance under the LDF. Issues such as the stray dog menace and what people perceived as a tax onslaught pushed citizens to the brink. This verdict is a clear response to that,” said Rajan Pallan, former Opposition leader in the Corporation.
Reacting to the setback, Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] district secretary K. V. Abdul Khader acknowledged the need for introspection. “This defeat calls for a serious and in-depth review. However, the reversal has largely occurred in the city. The LDF has retained its dominance in the municipalities, grama panchayats, block panchayats and the district panchayat. Organisational weakness in urban areas was a factor, and the BJP’s advances in the city’s core areas need close examination,” he said.
Published – December 13, 2025 07:31 pm IST
