Thiruvananthapuram: After voters turned up in droves and exercised their franchise with visible enthusiasm on the polling day, its time for political parties to engage in a rudimentary analysis to gauge their performance on the basis of the feedback collected from booth-level functionaries. UDF, LDF and NDA believe that there was no erosion in their political votes and awaiting the results to be announced on May 4.The first CPM secretariat after the election is set to meet at AKG Centre on Sunday. BJP and Congress are also yet to comprehensively assess the feedback from the local functionaries involved in the electioneering. All political parties attribute SIR as one of the main reasons for the jump in voting percentage of over 78% and are not ready to subscribe to the old narratives about the possibility of one front or the other gaining upper hand in case of a high polling rate.The preliminary reactions by Congress and Muslim League leaders showcase the confidence that they have earned after the polling. Irrespective of the polling percentage, what gives them the courage to exude confidence was the vigour with which voters queued before polling stations during the early hours on the polling day. A significant number of constituencies saw 50% polling by 1pm, giving the opposition a solid reason to believe that people have voted with a purpose. Such an enthusiasm, argue political leaders and observers, could hardly be in favour of a govt in power for the last 10 years. Opposition leader V D Satheesan sticks to his prediction that UDF would win 100-plus seats to come back to power. IUML alone expects to win 21 seats this time. However, what prevents political analysts to predict a huge mandate to Congress-led UDF, even in case of an anti-incumbency wave against Pinarayi Vijayan govt, is the three-cornered fight in at least 35 assembly constituencies. The emergence of a third front makes prediction almost impossible in several constituencies like Vattiyoorkavu and Kazhakkoottam in Thiruvananthapuram and Chathannur in Kollam. Though the level of confidence is dissimilar among LDF candidates in general, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and CPM state secretary M V Govindan are confident that LDF would win the election for the third consecutive time. Sources said the CM expects the LDF to win at least 81 seats and retain power. They firmly believe that there was no anti-incumbency wave against the LDF govt. CPM also expects to benefit from a counter-consolidation of Hindu votes in certain seats in north Kerala. NDA, meanwhile, is sure about winning Nemom seat this time. It has high hopes for several other seats, including Kazhakkoottam, Vattiyoorkavu, Palakkad, Manjeswaram, Devikulam, etc.
