TRIVANDRUM, 14 May  — Several stalwarts of the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) were swept out of power in the southern state of Kerala yesterday by the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF).

Only three Cabinet ministers of outgoing Chief Minister E.K. Nayanar managed to win Thursday’s assembly elections. They included Minister for Welfare of Backward and Scheduled Communities K. Radhakrishnan, Health Minister V.C. Kabeer and Transport Minister C.K. Nanu.

While Radhakrishnan is from the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM), Kabeer and Nanu belong to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Janata Dal respectively.

The defeated LDF leaders include the CPM’s Agricultural Minister K. Kaniyamparampil, Revenue Minister K.E. Ismail, Irrigation Minister V.P. Ramakrishnan Pillai and Education Minister P.J. Joseph.

Nayanar and six other members of his Cabinet -— T.K. Ramakrishnan, Paloly Muhammad Kutty, T. Sivadasa Menon, E. Chandrasekharan Nair, Susheela Gopalan and S. Sarma — did not contest the elections. Among the other veterans who lost was assembly Speaker M. Vijayakumar, who was drubbed by Congress party candidate K. Mohan Kumar by 6,000 votes from Trivandrum North.

A delighted Kumar said: “This is one of my biggest moments in my life, because last time I lost and I was dejected. I just can’t express my happiness now, because I fought one of the most glamorous candidates of the CPM.”

Assembly Deputy Speaker C.A. Kurian lost his Peermadu seat in Idukki district. Former minister M.P. Gangadharan defeated the government’s chief whip T.K. Hamza at Ponnani in Malapurram district. Center of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) General Secretary P.K. Gurudasan was humbled in the Varkala constituency.

Another LDF loser was independent candidate Mathai Noornal from the Sultan Battery constituency in Wayanad district. He lost to Congress party’s N.D. Appachan by more than 23,000 votes. His selection by the CPM had sparked controversy in political and religious circles here.

Reacting to the LDF defeat, State CPM Secretary Pinnarayi Vijayan said the UDF victory should be viewed seriously “because the UDF has won with the help of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the People’s Democratic Party.”