Keralam local body bypolls: UDF retains Ayyappankkavu in Kochi Corporation

The United Democratic Front (UDF) maintained control of the Ayyappankkavu division in Kochi Corporation's local body by-elections, albeit with a significantly smaller margin, according to the results announced on Tuesday (September 29, 2026). Ajith Kumar A.K., aged 77, secured his first electoral win by defeating P.K. Usman of the CPI(M) by a margin of 549 votes.

Deepak Joy had previously won the seat in the previous year's election with a margin of 1,183 votes. The bypoll was necessitated after Deepak Joy was elected as the Tripunithura MLA. This victory has bolstered the UDF's strength to 48 seats in the 76-member council. Ajith Kumar received 1,492 votes compared to Usman's 943. Independent candidate Sujith C. Sukumaran came in third with 305 votes, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) finished fourth with K.V.

Bejoy receiving 269 votes. All three major fronts had fielded first-time candidates in the election. Ajith Kumar, who previously served as secretary of the Thrikkanarvattom Mandalam and the Ernakulam North Block, expressed his intention to focus on completing development projects initiated by his predecessors and engaging with the public to understand their development priorities.

Joy noted that the victory margin was notable, given that voter turnout in the by-election dropped from 56% in the previous election to 47%. Joy mentioned that this is usually the typical victory margin in the division, except for last year's election, which was an exception due to the UDF's statewide wave of support. Ayyappankkavu has been a steadfast UDF stronghold since the beginning of the millennium.

In the 2020 election, the UDF's Mini Dileep emerged victorious after a tough contest against Ashley Rose of V4Kochi, who finished second.