THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It was eight in the morning. The counting centre seemed empty. Almost an eerie state of stillness prevailed at Cotton Hill Girls HSS, where votes of Nemom constituency were being counted. The highly charged atmosphere on counting days was lacking. Apart from the counting staff, representatives of the candidate and police personnel, the counting centre wore a deserted look.
As the counting began, all eyes were focused on Nemom. The stakes were high in Nemom, the only seat that Bharatiya Janata Party could ever get in assembly elections. Initially, as the counting of the postal ballots began, LDF candidate V Sivankutty managed a lead.But when the EVM votes were being counted, BJP candidate Kummanam Rajasekharan started maintaining a good lead. What started as a lead of hundreds soon crossed 1,500 and stood in good stead until the sixth round. By then, the lead maintained by Kummanam started declining. In a turnaround, Sivankutty started leading, a lead that continued to climb, making the contest a neck-and-neck fight.
By 3 in the afternoon, Sivankutty’s victory was assured. Except for the cheerful applauds, a lazy stupour permeated in the house of Sivankutty. Well-wishers and comrades trickled in. But the candidate was unwilling to come out, even as victory was assured. “A few postal votes are yet to be counted. Once that is counted, the candidate would be out,” a party worker said.
Attributing his victory to the trust people have placed on Pinarayi government, Sivankutty said he would resume the work initiated in Nemom. “The victory is the outcome of people’s trust on the LDF government. The people have understood the good work and developmental activities the government have done in the past 5 years.” he said.