The Left Democratic Front (LDF) has swept elections in Kerala with a near-two thirds majority after the electorate plumped for the time-tested option of returning either of the two main fronts back to power.
But this could not prevent the ‘lotus’ from blooming in the state with octogenarian O Rajagopal of the BJP winning from Nemom in Thiruvananthapuram.
POLE POSITION
The BJP managed to emerge at the second position in no less than seven seats. At a particular phase during the counting, its candidates were at the pole position in four constituencies.
Its candidate K Surendran lost the Manjeswaram seat in North Kerala by a whisker. The margin of victory here is 89 votes.
In Nemom, Rajagopal did not concede the lead he had worked up right from the start. In the end, he won comfortably with a margin of 8,671 votes.
The LDF won an impressive 91 seats, which is close to two-thirds majority in a house of 140. The outgoing Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government has to contend with a mere 47.
PC George, stormy petrel in the state politics and detested equally by the fronts, surprised observers with a spectacular victory to retain the Poonjar seat in a fierce multi-cornered contest.
SWEPT CLEAN
The LDF swept clean the southern district of Kollam while it conceded only a seat each in Thrissur, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta and Wayand.
The result in Vadakkancherry in Thrissur has been kept in abeyance since a voting machine with polled votes of 960 developed a snag during counting.
It has since been handed over to the Election Commission. When last updated, the UDF candidate was leading here by a mere three votes over his LDF rival.
The LDF also managed to keep its fortress in tact in Kannur, Kozhikode and Palakkad and picked up nine seats out of the 14 in Thiruvananthapuram.
The UDF put up some semblance of fight in its traditional bastion of Ernakulam and Kottayam in Central Kerala as well as in Malappuram in the North.
It claimed 12 out of the 16 seats in Malappuram; nine out of 14 in Ernakulam; and six out of nine in Kottayam.
SINGLE LARGEST
The CPI(M) is the single largest party in the new assembly with 58 seats. LDF coalition partners CPI won 19, Janata Dal (S) three, and the NCP, two. Kerala Congress (B), Congress (S), RSP(L) and CMP won a seat each.
In the UDF, the Congress could only win 22 seats while the Indian Union Muslim League retained its second ranking with 18. The Kerala Congress (Mani) and the Kerala Congress (Jacob) won a seat each.
Among the big losers are K Babu, Shibu Baby John, PK Jayalakshmi and KP Mohanan, all ministers in the outgoing Oommen Chandy-government.
Also meeting with the same fate in their respective constituencies are Speaker N Sakthan, Deputy Speaker Palode Ravi, and Chief Whip Thomas Unniyadan.
Prominent winners include VS Achuthanandan, Leader of Opposition; party colleague and potential chief ministerial candidate Pinarayi Vijayan; outgoing Chief Minister Oommen Chandy; and Muslim League leader PK Kunhalikkutty.
Former finance minister KM Mani and Kerala Congress (M) supremo KM Mani won for the 13{+t}{+h} time with a reduced margin from Pala. Party colleague PJ Joseph won with the maximum margin of 45,587 votes.