Thiruvananthapuram, May 4: Celebrations began at the Congress headquarters in New Delhi and in Thiruvananthapuram on counting day as early trends in the Kerala Assembly elections indicated the party-led United Democratic Front (UDF) ahead in 90 seats as of 11:30 p.m. Congress alone is leading on 57 seats.
Supporters waving Congress flags gathered at the party’s Delhi office, celebrating to the beats of dhol as initial leads pointed towards a favourable outcome for the alliance. In Kerala, party workers and leaders marked the occasion with a cake-cutting ceremony at the Congress headquarters, where several senior leaders were present as counting trends unfolded. Reacting to the early numbers, Congress leader M. M. Hassan expressed optimism about the party’s performance. “The trend is very favourable for the UDF. Before 5 o’clock, we will reach the number 100. We are all expecting at least 100 seats,” he told IANS. Another Congress leader, A.P. Anilkumar, said the alliance’s performance was in line with earlier expectations. “The UDF has already spoken about the majority of seats. We earlier said that we would get a huge majority. We received strong support in the Parliamentary election. We also received strong support in the Panchayat election. That trend is continuing; there is no change,” he said.