Thiruvananthapuram, Dec. 16 -- A combination of consolidation of minority votes and soaring anti-incumbency sentiment against the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led government in Kerala helped the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) post its victory in the state's local body polls, analysts said.

The UDF won over 500 of the 941 grama panchayats, 79 of the 152 block panchayats, 7 of 14 district panchayats, 54 of the 87 municipalities and 4 of the six municipal corporations, the results provided by the State Election Commission (SEC) showed.

In doing so, it beat the LDF and the third-placed NDA in all levels of local body governance, except district panchayats, where both the UDF and the LDF have equal numbers.

A closer look a...