THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: CPM candidate and Thiruvananthapuram Mayor VK Prasanth on Thursday won the prestigious Vatiyoorkavu Assembly constituency in Kerala by a margin of 14,251 votes, poll officials said. "The victory has been possible due to the work of the Pinarayi Vijayan government and what really mattered here was the candidate," said Prasanth.
The BJP, which finished in second place in Vatiyoorkavu in the last two polls, was pushed to third place, while the Congress came second. Earlier, the CPM-led Left Front looked set to wrest Vatiyoorkavu and Konni constituencies from the Congress-led UDF. The Congress was, however, marginally ahead in the Left-ruled Aroor seat.
The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) was also leading in Ernakulam and Manjeswaram.
The Konni Assembly seat seems to be going to the CPM as Congress candidate P Mohanraj is trailing by over 4,000 votes against CPM candidate KU Jenish. In Aroor, the only Left-ruled seat, CPM candidate Manu C Pulickal is trailing by over 2,500 votes against Congress leader Shanimol Usman.
Congress candidate TJ Vinod is leading by 3,000 votes in Ernakulam against Left supported Independent candidate Manu Roy. In Manjeswaram, Indian Union Muslim League candidate MC Kamarudheen is racing ahead with a lead of over 3,400 votes against BJP candidate Raveesh Thanthri Kumar.