KOCHI, Dec. 17 -- The CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF), despite handicapped by the gold smuggling scam and allegations of massive corruptions, managed to score impressive win in most of the local bodies in the State which went to the three-phase polls during the last week.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in a late evening media briefing, thanked the people of the State for reasserting their trust and confidence in the LDF. "The results show that the Congress-led UDF has become irrelevant in the State while the BJP is not a factor in Kerala. What adds to the beauty of the win is that this has happened despite the best efforts by Central agencies to spread canards and falsehoods about the Kerala Government," said Vijayan.

According...