Thiruvananthapuram, Dec. 14 -- The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) on Saturday swept elections to the rural and urban local bodies in Kerala that are seen as a bellwether for the upcoming assembly elections next year, even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured its first win in a municipal corporation in the state, in what Prime Minister Narendra Modi described as a "watershed moment".

According to the results published by the State Election Commission (SEC) on Saturday, the UDF won 505 out of a total 941 gram panchayats in the running, 79 out of 142 block panchayats, 7 out of 14 district panchayats, 54 of 87 municipalities and 4 out of the 6 municipal corporations, with the exception of Kozhikode, which was retained by t...