Early leads suggest LDF crosses halfway mark in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram, May 02: The ruling LDF in Kerala was leading in 75 of the total 140 seats while opposition UDF was ahead in 56 segments as counting of votes for the April 6 assembly elections got underway on Sunday.

Initial trends indicated that the BJP-led NDA is ahead in two seats-Palakkad, where 'Metroman' E Sreedharan is contesting and Nemom, the lone seat won by the saffron party in the 2016 assembly polls.

Early leads showed that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Health Minister K K Shailaja, former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and oppositionleader Ramesh Chennithala were leading in their respective constituencies, while BJP state chief K Surendran was trailing in both the seats-Konni and Manjeswaram- he contested.

As per the Election Commission website, the ruling CPI(M) was leading in five, CPI in two and theopposition Congress in five.