The United Democratic Front (UDF) has won a major victory in the Kochi Corporation elections. The UDF secured 47 seats out of 76, just one seat away from its best result in 2010. They easily crossed the required 39 seats to control the council. The Left Democratic Front (LDF) managed only 22 seats, including two independents they supported. This is worse than their 24-seat tally in 2010. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) improved its count by one seat to reach six. However, BJP’s allies in the National Democratic Alliance, like the Bharath Dharma Jana Sena, failed to win any seats. Congress rebel Bastin Babu won independently from Chullickal and may rejoin UDF, potentially taking their total to 48 seats. V.P. Chandran, once a CPI(M) winner from Champakkara, won as a UDF-backed independent in this election. In 2020’s pre-delimitation election with 74 divisions, no one got a simple majority. CPI(M) led with 34 seats, UDF had 31, and BJP five. CPI(M) took control with support from two independents. The Mayor’s post remains reserved for women this time. All three UDF women potential mayoral candidates – Deepthy Mary Varghese, V.K. Minimol, and Shiny Mathew – won their seats. However, the front still needs to decide the mayor nominee, a process UDF says will be handled by the parliamentary party meeting. LDF accused UDF of cozying up with BJP in four divisions, but the seats split evenly with each front winning two each. Notable losses include LDF’s Deepa Varma from Edappally and Sunitha Dixon, who shifted from UDF to BJP but finished third. Malini Kurup, a former Congress councillor running as an independent, also lost. UDF’s former Opposition leader Antony Kureethara lost to BJP’s T. Padmakumari in Island North. His defeat was the first announced result in the election. Published - December 13, 2025, 02:00 pm IST