MALAPPURAM: Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) candidate P K Kunhalikutty won the Malappuram Lok Sabha bypoll by a margin of 1.71 lakh votes, defeating the LDF's M B Faisal and the NDA's N Sreeprakash.
The IUML is a constituent of the opposition UDF in Kerala.
Kunhalikutty, however, could not top the victory margin of E Ahamed who had won this seat by 1,94,739 votes against the CPM's P K Sainaba in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. The Malappuram bypoll was necessitated by the death of Ahamad in February.
While Kunhalikutty of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) secured 5,15,325 votes, the CPM's M B Faisal got 3,44,287 and BJP's Sreeprakash 65,662.
UDF managed to maintain a good lead in all the seven Assembly constituencies in the Malappuarm Parliament constituency.
Malappuram recorded 71.33 per cent voting in the byelection held on April 12, against the 71.11 per cent recorded in the last election.