Kannur, May 5 -- Keralam Congress President Sunny Joseph on Tuesday said that "authoritarian leadership" under outgoing Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was a key factor behind the Left Democratic Front's (LDF) defeat, as the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) secured a sweeping mandate in the Keralam Assembly elections.

Speaking to ANI here, Joseph said Vijayan's leadership style and governance issues contributed to the electoral setback.

"Definitely that will be there because he was responsible for all these things. He was the Chief Minister; he was an authoritarian leader in the party as well as the government. And in his own constituency, wherein he could win with a margin of 50,000 votes in the last election, he was trailing...