As the Left Democratic Front (LDF) goes into a huddle to review its electoral drubbing in the Puthuppally Assembly constituency, the heavier-than-expected defeat has also cast doubts on the durability of its strategy to swing votes from rubber-growing areas leftward through the Kerala Congress (M) [KC(M)].
Post the death of Oommen Chandy, the LDF nursed the hope of electoral victory in Puthuppally with fervour, but has been engulfed by the constituency’s anti-Left character. The defeat has been especially heavy for the KC(M) as it puts the regional party under the lens for a perceived failure in arresting the leakage of votes to the United Democratic Front (UDF).
