Kerala: UDF stalwarts face humiliating defeat

Several senior leaders, including ministers belonging to the ruling United Democratic Front, suffered humiliating defeat on Thursday as most of the prominent leaders from the rival Left Democratic Front emerged winners in the Kerala Assembly elections.

Leading the pack is the oldest woman legislator in Kerala, agriculture minister K R Gawri, who lost on her home turf Aroor to CPI-M debutant A M Arif by a margin of 4,753 votes.

After winning the Aroor constituency in 1965 for the first time, she continued to represent it till 1977. She lost in 1977 but avenged her defeat from the constituency in 1980 and ever since, she has never tasted defeat from there.

Minister for cooperation and ports M V Raghavan of the Communist Marxist Party, fighting his ninth electoral battle, is the other giant in the UDF camp who faced defeat.