Thrikkakara bypoll: BJP loses deposit, vote share declines to 9.57%

The party also lost its deposit amount as its candidate couldn’t garner at least 15% of votes polled.
Mollywood actor Suresh Gopi (Photo | ESP)
Mollywood actor Suresh Gopi (Photo | ESP)

KOCHI: Despite launching a high-octane campaign, fielding actor-turned-Rajya Sabha member Suresh Gopi, Janapaksham leader PC George and Union minister V Muraleedharan, the BJP failed to make its presence felt in the byelection held in Thrikkakara assembly constituency. Though the BJP leaders were confident of changing the equation in the constituency, the party’s vote share plunged to 9.57% recording a loss of 2,526 votes compared to the previous election. The party also lost its deposit amount as its candidate couldn’t garner at least 15% of votes polled.

Though considered a ‘C grade’ constituency, the leaders had sensed chances of emerging as a serious player in Thrikkakara after the party polled 21,247 votes in the 2016 assembly elections. However, the vote share plunged to 15,483 in 2021 which further declined to 12,957 this time.

“Definitely, the acceptance of BJP has increased in Thrikkakara. We were expecting to improve our tally this time. We had conducted extensive door-to-door campaign and the general impression was that we would get more than 20,000 votes. But a section of voters feared that division of anti-government votes would ultimately lead to the victory of LDF candidate. Our cadre votes have remained intact, but a section of sympathisers switched in favour of Uma Thomas,” said BJP candidate A N Radhakrishnan.

The BJP was expecting a change in the attitude of the Catholic Christian community after the party openly supported P C George who was arrested for hate speech. “However, the fear of split in anti-government votes made the community to stay with the Congress. The voters wanted to ensure the defeat of the LDF candidate and, in the process, we suffered a setback,” he said.

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