In Kerala, BJP suffers reverses
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) Thursday won two out of five assembly seats after suffering a defeat in Lok Sabha (LS) polls in May, in which the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) won a majority.
CPI (M) candidate from Vattiyoorkavu VK Prashanth, also the Thiruvananthapuram mayor, won while K U Janeesh Kumar beat the Congress’ K Mohanraj by over 10,000 votes in Konni in Pathanamhitta district, home to the Sabarimala temple. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate K Surendran came third despite the temple being a major poll plank for BJP in 2019 general polls. The CPI(M) won Konni, after 23 years, but lost Aroor (Alappuzha) to Congress candidate Shanimol Usman.
In Mancheswaram, Kerala’s northern-most assembly constituency bordering Karnataka, Indian Union Muslim League candidate M C Kamaruddin defeated Raveesha Thanthri of the BJP. In Ernakulam, Congress candidate T J Vinod won over independent candidate Manu Roy, with BJP’s O Rajagopal coming third.
“In Mancheswaram and Konni we retained our votes. But in Vattiurkavu it was not on expected lines. We will examine it,” said BJP’s Radhakrishna Menon.
The by-poll outcome is an indicator of possible outcomes in assembly polls next year. “Congress has to put its house in order before that,” said political commentator Sunnykutty Abraham. He said BJP will have to wait to make its presence felt in the state.
Congress leaders admit the decision of Nair Service Society (NSS), has not been necessarily beneficial. “There was a consolidation of other communities against this,” said Congress candidate K Mohan Kumar who lost in Vattiyoorkavu. CPI (M) also criticised it, saying it tried to play caste politics openly. “Voters have shown community leaders their place,” said CPI(M)’s Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.
After a disastrous LS poll in which it won a mere one of the 39 seats in the state, the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) managed to stage a comeback, wresting Vikravandi and Nanguneri assembly seats from opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and Congress, respectively. AIADMK nominee R Muthamilselvan trounced N Pugazhendhi of DMK in Vikravandi. In Nanguneri, held by the Congress, AIADMK’s V Narayanan won.