KOCHI: It was shock and disbelief at Lenin Centre, the CPM’s headquarters in Ernakulam, after the party suffered yet another defeat in Thrikkakara. Party supporters expected to upset UDF in their bastion considering the high-stake campaign mounted by the LDF this time with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan leading it. Lenin Centre was unusually calm from the morning itself on Friday.
Around 7.30am, CPM candidate Jo Joseph arrived at the centre. He looked confident and cheerful as he rushed straight to the first floor, evading queries from the media. The reporters were later informed that he would go to the counting centre.
As the counting of postal votes began and first round of counting got over, the mood changed in the CPM camp. By around 10am, when party district secretary C N Mohanan reached Lenin Centre, the fifth round of counting was over and the trend was clear. The unexpected jolt could be visible on the faces of other party workers who showed up at the office. Senior CPM leader Dinesh Mani took out his frustration and anger on mediapersons. He shouted at them, asking them to vacate the first floor and wait on the ground floor.
Meanwhile, Mohanan, who had been optimistic throughout the campaign, couldn’t mask his shock. He admitted defeat at the end of the sixth round itself, when Congress candidate Uma Thomas was leading by over 10,000 votes.Dr Joseph, who returned to Lenin Centre around 11am, also admitted defeated. “I sincerely carried out the work which the party had assigned me,” he said with a grim face, quite different from his jovial nature.
M Swaraj, former MLA, who was at the counting centre from the morning, said, “This was a sympathy wave. We could increase our votes by 2,244 from 2021.” Industries Minister P Rajeeve who led the campaign said this defeat was not a setback for the SilverLine project. Meanwhile, Dr Joseph, a cardiologist at Lisie Hospital in Kochi, will be back on duty on Saturday.