Thiruvananthapuram | A day after the Congress-led UDF swept back to power in Kerala, the mood in the alliance is one of joy, relief and cautious hope. At the same time, discussions on forming the new government have already begun, with leaders holding meetings and informal talks to decide the next steps.
For senior leaders, the win is not just political--it is emotional. Many of them have described it as a moment of "people's trust returning".
Alongside the celebrations, strong moves have begun among senior party leaders for the Chief Minister's post.
There are three major contenders in the state Congress for the post--Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan, senior leader Ramesh Chennithala, and AICC general secretary and Lok Sabha MP K C Venugopal.
UDF leaders have thanked voters, saying the result shows that people wanted change.
Since the Congress has 63 seats on its own, it is not under pressure to yield to alliance partners.
As part of the process of deciding the next Chief Minister, an AICC team will be deputed by the party high command and, along with AICC general secretary and Kerala in-charge Deepa Das Munshi, will hold discussions with party MLAs.
They are expected to meet MLAs individually, sources said.
They are also likely to meet leaders of alliance partners, including the IUML.
After that, the Congress Parliamentary Party will meet and pass a one-line resolution authorising the AICC to take a decision on the next Chief Minister, sources said.
At the same time, the CPI(M)-led LDF, which suffered a huge setback in the election, will discuss the reasons for the rout of the front after 10 years in power in the state.
Pinarayi Vijayan, who resigned as Chief Minister following the defeat, has not spoken to the media yet.
Vijayan, who was in Kannur when the election results were announced, has left for Thiruvananthapuram.
He is expected to meet the media after the party state secretariat meeting on Wednesday.
Kerala on Monday witnessed a sharp political reset as the state electors voted out the last Left government in the country, bringing back the Congress to the ruling saddle after a gap of 10 years, while the BJP broke through a long-standing electoral drought by winning three seats.
Apart from strong anti-incumbency against the government, the results of the April 9 polls also indicated a consolidation of support across sections of society in favour of the United Democratic Front, which had been in opposition to the Left dispensation for the past decade.
The UDF won 102 seats, while the CPI(M)-headed LDF netted 35 seats, according to Election Commission data on counting of votes for 140 constituencies.
The outcome also marked the absence of the Left from governance in any Indian state for the first time in five decades.
The ire against the government was so strong that 13 ministers in the cabinet suffered defeat in the political tsunami unleashed by the UDF.
Not only the Congress, but its key allies, including the IUML, the Kerala Congress also secured massive victory in the polls, which saw the complete erasure of the LDF in some key districts.
Of the 21 cabinet members, only Pinarayi Vijayan, P A Mohamed Riyas, K Rajan, G R Anil, K N Balagopal, P Prasad, and Saji Cherian emerged victorious.
