UDF camp erupts in joy as Congress' Shashi Tharoor retains home turf

On counting day, T'Puram Express takes a look at the atmosphere across the city
Jubilant UDF workers celebrating their massive victory at the counting station at Mar Ivanios Vidya Nagar B P Deepu
Jubilant UDF workers celebrating their massive victory at the counting station at Mar Ivanios Vidya Nagar B P Deepu

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state capital which witnessed a tough triangular contest sent ripples across the district on the counting day. Residents huddled in local tea shops, curious if Sabarimala would trigger a different political scenario in the district. "The win is rather unpredictable. The Sabarimala sentiment is likely to change the direction of the political wind," said Aswanth Krishna, at a tea shop in Vellayambalam.

The crowd which gathered at the counting centre in the Mar Ivanios College increased by noon as UDF candidate Shashi Tharoor led by 14,000 votes. Party candidates flocked to the college as UDF showed a clear lead. "The current results give us happiness and hope," said Sajan Vellanad, district secretary of Kerala Congress (Jacob) while waiting for the result at the college.

Asked about NDA’s result at the centre, he replied, “They won this election through communal polarisation. It won't happen in Kerala.” Keeping in mind UDF candidate Shashi Tharoor's win in the 2014 general elections, party members were in high hopes. "Though the opposition put up a strong competition, we expect Tharoor to win, " said Aju, a political activist for UDF. The KPCC office remained crowded since morning. While the results progressed into a positive affair for UDF, bike rallies with the figurines of former Chief Minister of Kerala, Oommen Chandy, reached the office. 

The day began at BJP office with sharing of 'prasadam'. The BJP office at PMG was optimistic about their chances to win a seat in Thiruvananthapuram till early evening. But as UDF showed a clear lead, the office had a calm atmosphere. The mood at the LDF office at the AKG Centre was similar. Despite work schedule, techies did not want to miss out the fun of watching the results unfurl. "We received live updates on the television at our cafeterias," said Rajeev, a techie. 

Police had tightened security and increased the number of traffic police officers to control and avoid traffic blocks in the district. The public had mixed feelings regarding the outcome. Few were happy about Tharoor’s lead while some were disappointed with Kummanam Rajasekharan’s performance. The LDF supporters were extremely disappointed about their overall performance in Kerala.

Shashi Tharoor chose to spend his time alone until the declaration of results. NDA candidate Kummanam Rajasekharan viewed live updates of the polls along with his party members. Although they had high expectations until morning, the atmosphere became dull by afternoon as most party members did not have any high hopes upon seeing the live updates.

"We were expecting a favourable result but we couldn't make it in the capital city. Although we are happy that in the centre we could make a considerable lead,” said a BJP supporter. 

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com