Vijayan Cabinet routed as 13 ministers lose, CM’s margin shrinks sharply

Thiruvananthapuram: In a stunning electoral setback for the ruling Left, a majority of the outgoing Cabinet led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has been voted out, signalling a decisive shift in Kerala’s political landscape.

Of the 21 member Cabinet, 20 ministers contested the polls, and as many as 13 of them were defeated, marking one of the most significant reverses for an incumbent government in recent times.

Even as the final tally has not been declared by the Election Commission, the UDF has touched 102, the Left 35 and the BJP 3.

The Chief Minister himself retained his seat, but not without an evident erosion in support.

Pinarayi Vijayan, who had secured a commanding margin of over 50,000 votes in 2021, was trailing until the sixth round of counting this time and eventually won with a much narrower margin of around 19,400 votes, an outcome widely seen as reflective of shifting voter sentiment.

Among the few ministers who managed to hold on were Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal, Tourism Minister P. A. Mohammed Riyas, and Fisheries Minister Saji Cherian, all from the CPI(M).

They were joined by Revenue Minister K. Rajan, Food Minister G.R. Anil, and Agriculture Minister P.P. Prasad (all from the CPI) who also retained their seats.

However, the scale of losses within the Cabinet was striking.

Prominent CPI(M) leaders and ministers including Veena George, V.N. Vasavan, R. Bindu, M.B. Rajesh, O.R. Kelu, V. Sivankutty, and P. Rajeeve were defeated.

The setback extended beyond the CPI(M) to its allies, with ministers such as J. Chinchurani (CPI), Kadanapally Ramachandran (Cong-S), Roshy Augustine (Kerala Congress-M), K.B. Ganesh Kumar (Kerala Congress-B), A.K. Saseendran (NCP) and V. Abdurahiman also losing their seats.

Perhaps the most telling indicator of the changing political tide came from the victories of former CPI(M) heavyweights such as G. Sudhakaran, T.K. Govindan and V. Kunjikrishnan, who won comfortably from traditional Left bastions.

Their success in core strongholds underscores a deeper churn within the Left’s support base.

Taken together, the results point to a decisive voter backlash against the incumbent government, with the scale of ministerial defeats emerging as one of the defining features of this election.

IANS