In one of the most significant losses for the Kerala Congress (M) as well the United Democratic Front (UDF), the Left Democratic Front (LDF) has pulled off an improbable victory in Pala, a constituency held by the late KC(M) leader K.M. Mani for 54 years since its formation in 1965.
The LDF candidate and NCP leader Mani C. Kappan bagged 54,137 votes to trounce his nearest rival Jose Tom Pulikkunnel, who contested as UDF Independent, by a margin of 2,943 votes. N. Hari of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) received only 18,044 votes to finish as a distant third.
In the Assembly election of 2016, Mr. Kappan had received 54,181 votes as against 58,884 votes for K.M. Mani. The vote share of BJP, meanwhile, registered a sharp decline as it received 7,690 less than the previous election.
C.J. Philip and Maju Puthankandam, two Independent candidates, received 1,085 and 1,012 votes respectively to finish fourth and fifth respectively. With 742 votes, NOTA came in the sixth position .
Mr. Kappan attributed the victory to a collective effort put up by the LDF workers and thanked the voters of Pala for helping him achieve the historic fete. “I am thankful to the people of Pala, who have turned down the accusations concocted against me. As a representative of this constituency, my focus will now be on designing projects to ensure the comprehensive development of the region in the coming years,’’ he said.
The counting began at the Camel Public School amid an air of anxiety among the LDF workers as majority of the post-poll surveys had predicted a win for the UDF. But as reports of Mr. Kappan maintaining a steady lead trickled in, the buzz began building and it exploded by around 12.30 p.m. with only two rounds of counting left to be completed.
Though for the UDF, the scent of victory was in the air as hundreds of its supporters huddled outside the Karingozhakkal residence of the late K.M. Mani in Pala much before the exercise began. As the counting progressed, enthusiasm gave way for anxiety as early trends projected the left candidate taking a lead.
Mr. Kappan, who had unsuccessfully contested in Pala against Mr. Mani for three times on a trot, rode on his popularity in the region and the raging factional fight within the KC(M) to emerge victorious this time.
