Keralam local body bypolls: UDF retains Kuttichira ward in Kozhikode Corporation

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The United Democratic Front (UDF) retained the Kuttichira ward in the Kozhikode Corporation in the byelection held on Monday.

However, the majority of Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) candidate Farseena Arakkal came down to 436 votes, compared with that of Fathima Thahiliya, who, as the UDF candidate, had secured 2,273 votes more than her Left Democratic Front (LDF) opponent in the 2025 local body polls.

When the results were declared on Tuesday morning, Ms. Arakkal secured 2,711 votes against her LDF rival from the Indian National League, T.T. Jamsheena, who polled 2,275 votes. K. Jeeja of the National Democratic Alliance got just 204 votes. The byelection was necessitated by Ms. Thahiliya’s victory from the Perambra constituency in the May Assembly election.

Meanwhile, IUML district leaders, including T.T. Ismail, alleged that the Communist Party of India (Marxist) had indulged in misleading campaigning during the election. Because of this, the polling percentage came down from 58% in 2025 to 54% this time, they alleged. Of the 9,712 voters, 5,281 exercised their franchise. Among male voters, the polling percentage was 51.56%, while among women, it was 57.23%.

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