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Kerala News

The New Indian Express News

Kerala / The New Indian Express

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Grassroots reboot helps UDF break slump in Thrissur

KOCHI: The Congress-led UDFs strong showing in Thrissur, after nearly a decade of lacklustre performances, has come as a surprise to many observers. This is especially so in the backdrop of widespread speculation that the BJP would reap a lions share of anti-incumbency gains, buoyed by its impressive performance in the last Lok Sabha elections. Reports suggesting that sections of the Christian community had drifted towards NDA further fuelled expectations that the BJP would sweep Thrissur corporation, win Kodungallur municipality, and improve its tally across local bodies. DCC president Joseph Tajet attributed UDFs improved performance to the rejuvenation of the party organisation at the grassroots level. He said the party began preparations as early as AprilMay under its Mission 25 campaign. For us, the last 10 years were disappointing. The core issue was the reliability of the top leadership. This time, we sought feedback from the grassroots, which helped us nominate candidates acceptable to the public, Tajet said. UDF won 33 seats in the 56-member corporation. Dismissing claims of a Christian voter shift towards the BJP, Tajet said such narratives were exaggerated. The hype that Christian votes have drifted towards the BJP is totally false. In the Lok Sabha polls, there was a failure on our part to handle the election more seriously. BJPs victory had more to do with star appea, he said. He added that anti-incumbency and governance issues also played key roles. According to him, the governments financial mismanagement resulted in reduced spending on both revenue and plan funds, slowing development and triggering public discontent. Senior journalist N Sreekumar told TNIE that being out of power for nearly a decade had weakened the Congress organisation and dampened morale at the grassroots level. This time, the party started its election work well in advance and managed to rein in rebels who usually plague the organisation. It is important to note that the partys traditional vote base remains intact, Sreekumar said. However, Sreekumar pointed out that the UDF performance in block and district panchayats was less impressive. The better showing at the ward level had more to do with the revival of party workers and unfreezing of dormant traditional Congress votes. It failed to fully convert the anti-incumbency sentiment, and LDF continues to hold a majority of the seats, he said. On BJP MP and actor Suresh Gopis Lok Sabha victory from Thrissur, Sreekumar said it was driven largely by star appeal rather than organisational strength. If it were due to BJPs grassroots growth, it would have reflected in more seats at the local level , he added.

15 Dec 2025 8:54 am