THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The LDF has retained the southernmost constituencies in the state - Neyyattinkara and Parassala. K Ansalan of Neyyattinkara won with a majority of 14,262 votes, while C K Hareendran at Parassala won with a thumping majority of 25,828 votes. In the 2016 assembly elections, Hareendran won with a majority of 18,566 and Ansalan won with a majority of 9,543. The results clearly indicated the people prioritised development over caste votes. Since both constituencies had a good number of Nadar votes , the political parties used to field the candidates from this community.
However, Hareendran who is from Nair community won for the second consecutive term because of the various developmental works he had done in the constituency over the past five years. Ansalan who is from Nadar community was ‘alien’ to rural parts of Neyyattinkara when he contested in 2016. But his developmental initiatives, including the development of roads in the last five years made him favourite among the electorate. Hareendran and Ansalan had managed to keep their promises.