Bengaluru, 7 May

As the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala is set to assume power after a decade, Karnataka can take the credit for contributing to the party's stupendous victory.

Three Congressmen from Karnataka - Mansoor Ali Khan, PV Mohan and BM Sandeep Kumar - all AICC secretaries in charge of different zones of Kerala had pitched camp in the southern state months before the Assembly polls were announced in Kerala. Along with the trio was Kerala AICC general secretary in charge Deepa Das Munshi.

The UDF collectively won 102 seats of the total 140 Assembly seats with the Congress alone securing a majority of 63 seats. The Indian Union Muslim League won 22 seats, the Kerala Congress (KEC) seven seats, the Revolutionary Socialist Party three seats and the Kerala Congress (Jacob) one seat.

Speaking to Salar News, Khan who is AICC secretary in-charge of Kerala and Lakshadweep said of the 48 seats in his North zone also called the Malabar region, the Congress won 40 seats. This zone includes the Assembly constituencies comprising of Kasargod, Kannur, Wayanad, Kozhikode andMalappuram.

"The victory reflects the discipline, unity and sustained efforts of our cadre. This victory belongs to every UDF worker, leader and voter who chose progress, unity and justice,'' he added.

Mohan who was in charge of the Central zone comprising of Palakkad, Thrissur, Ernakulam, Iddukki and Kotayyam called the Kochi region, said that the main challenge was to activate the workers. “All the Congress leaders spent more time with the workers than with the voters. We had started working on the ground from 2024, and the anti-incumbency against the Communist party-led  Left Democratic Front (LDF)  ruled government was palpable,'' he maintained.

 Sandeep was lookingafter South Kerala which includes districts of Alappuzha, Kolam, Thiruvunanthapuram and Pathanamthitta collectively known as Travancore region.

The Congress wave swept across Kerala, and was not restricted to the north and central regions as predicted, with the party making significant inroads into the Hindu vote base of the LDF and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The BJP won three seats, which according to Mohan was by default. The Congress could have garnered these three seats too, he added.

Khan was earlier AICC secretary in charge of Telangana, when the Congress won 64 of the 119 Assembly seats in 2023. This was the Congress’ first victory after  the formation of Telangana state in 2014.