Thiruvananthapuram, May 13 (IANS) Kerala's ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) were Friday neck and neck in the race for power in the state, early trends showed.

 
 Candidates of the LDF, led by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), were ahead of the UDF as officials counted the millions of votes polled to pick a new 140-member assembly.
 
 In a state where every election has thrown up a new government, both the CPI-M and the Congress claimed they were confident of forming the next government.
 
 "We have all long been feeling that the LDF has a very good chance (of winning the election)," Marxist leader M.A. Baby said.
 
 But Congress leader and former chief minister Oommen Chandy was equally confident.
 
 "We hope the UDF will definitely get the majority," Chandy told Times Now television, quickly admiting that his coalition had lost ground since the 2009 Lok Sabha election.