Thiruvananthapuram, May 2 (TIWN) While Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has written himself into record books by becoming the first to retain power in the state, his CPI-M fell three short of forming a government on its own, winning 68 seats out of the 99 seats that the party-led Left Democratic Front won in the 140-member Assembly.

 At the end of the day, the LDF's final tally was the Communist Party of India-Marxist 68, thee Communist Party of India 17, the Kerala Congress-Mani five, the Janata Dal-Secular and the Nationalist Congress Party two each and the Loktantrik Janta Dal, the Indian National League, Congress-Seccular, the Revolutionary Socialist Party-L and Kerala Congress-B one each. 

The Congress-led United Democratic Front tally reads Congress 22, the Indian Union Muslim League 14, the Kerala Congress two and the Nationalist Congress Kerala, the Kerala Congress-Jacob and the Revolutionary Marxist Party one each.  The big loser was the BJP that had one seat in the outgoing Assembly, but failed to open its account now.  In the 2016 Assembly, the LDF held 91 seats, the UDF 47, the BJP one and there was one Independent candidate.