Kerala Election Result 2026 LIVE: VD Satheesan leads in Paravur, will he be the next Kerala CM?

Kerala Election Result 2026 LIVE: With the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) set for an emphatic victory in the 2026 Assembly elections in Kerala, Congress leader and UDF candidate VD Satheesan is heading towards a win from the Paravur constituency, as per Election Commission of India trends. As counting of votes for the 9 April Assembly elections is underway, the opposition alliance is predicted to defeat the ruling Left government.

VD Satheesan leads in Paravur

According to the Election Commission's website, Satheesan is leading in the Paravur assembly seat by a margin of 11,376 votes. The Congress leader secured 56,255 votes against CPI's ET Taison, who has 44,879 votes.

Seven candidates contested for this seat, including major names from the INC, CPI, and BJP, including Satheesan, ET Taison, Valsala Prasannakumar, VM Faisal, PK Rajesh, KB Satheesan and G Gokuldev.

The Congress is leading in the state with 60 seats and CPI (M) is trailing behind with a lead in 20 constituencies, at the time of publishing. However, the official announcement has yet to confirm these results.

Will Satheesan be the next CM?

Satheesan was predicted to be the UDF's face for the Kerala chief minister post after the exit polls.

Satheesan reacted to the early election results and told NDTV, “I am happy to say that we have predicted to get more than 100 seats. Now, we got more than 100 seats.”

“Now it's 103.”

Satheesan was also asked ‘Will you be the chief minister of Kerala?’ on live television. To this, he said, "That will be by the Congress high command. There is a procedure. I am not the competent person to say anything about that," he answered.

UDF vs Left

Earlier in the day, PTI reported after the first few rounds of counting that the UDF was leading in 100 of the 140 Assembly seats. It added that the CPI(M)-led LDF was ahead in just 40 constituencies.

The report also hinted at setbacks for the ruling front, with at least a dozen ministers trailing in their respective constituencies. Even Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan was behind in Dharmadam, his traditional battleground in Kannur district, in the initial rounds.

Among other ministers who were said to be behind as per early trends included Veena George, MB Rajesh, OR Kelu, R Bindhu, J Chinchurani, P Rajeev, KB Ganesh Kumar, VN Vasavan, V Sivankutty, V Abdurahiman, Kadannappally Ramachandran, AK Saseendran and Roshy Augustine.

TP Ramakrishnan was also behind in his sitting constituency of Perambra in Kozhikode district, PTI reported, quoting television reports.

When to expect the election result?

Counting began at 8 AM across 140 centres in Kerala, starting with postal ballots. Officials said a clearer picture is expected by the afternoon as more rounds will be completed by then.

The Kerala election 2026 is one of the high-stakes contests between the ruling Left government, which is seeking a rare third consecutive term, and the UDF, which is aiming to return to power after almost a decade.

Several visuals from the state have emerged on social media, with the UDF leading.

Watch this space for more updates and live counting.