KOCHI: The Kochi corporation council seat position was left undisturbed as the NDA retained the Ernakulam South division in the byelection held on Tuesday, the result of which was declared on Wednesday. In a close contest, BJP’s Padmaja S Menon defeated UDF candidate Anitha Warrier, of the Congress, by 75 votes. Last time, the NDA had enjoyed a margin of 271 votes. Though the UDF increased its vote share, from 602 in 2021 to 899, it was not enough to win the seat and unsettle the ruling LDF.
The result helped the LDF maintain its slim lead of two seats in the council. The Left front has 34 seats compared to UDF’s 32. While the NDA has five seats, independents occupy three. The UDF was hoping to wrest control of the corporation with a victory in Ernakulam South, along with the help of two independent councillors.
“Two independents had expressed willingness to support the UDF should we win in Ernakulam South. But the plan didn’t work out,” said a UDF leader. He alleged that the “Hindu vote polarisation” in the ward helped the BJP win. Ernakulam South was considered a UDF bastion until the BJP started eating into the Congress votes. In the 2015 election, the UDF candidate had received 1,312 votes, ahead of the NDA candidate who received 693 votes. But the UDF’s vote share came down to 602 in the 2020 election, which saw the NDA winning the seat securing 873 votes.
“This election, we reckon some of our supporters extended support to the BJP. Their vote share increased to 974 from 873,” said the senior Congress leader. This time, the absence of the apolitical outfit V4Kochi also helped the NDA. In the last election, V4Kochi had secured nearly 200 votes. It is reckoned that a big chunk of these votes might have gone to the BJP. The bypoll -- necessitated by the demise of BJP’s Mini R Menon on October 15 -- also saw CPI’s votes increasing from 282 to 328.