The historic win of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in the Kerala Assembly election has put the spotlight on its lead author, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan. His resolute leadership style and daring political experiments amid major challenges and crises in the state – like the 2018 floods, the Nipah virus outbreak, the Sabarimala case controversy and now the Covid2019 pandemic – has found resounding approval among the state’s electorate, so much so that it re-elected an incumbent government for the first time in four decades. The LDF won 91 seats and the Congress-led UDF 40, while BJP failed to secure a single seat in the state, despite roping in ‘Metroman’ E Sreedharan in a last-minute bid to garner votes.