THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Congress-led UDF retained the Palakkad assembly seat and Wayanad Lok Sabha seat while the ruling CPM retained the Chelakkara seat in the three by-polls held in the state.
In Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi recorded a massive victory with a winning margin of over 4 lakh votes. In spite of a substantial decrease in polling percentage, the Gandhi scion won 4,10,931 votes. She was able to cross the victory margin of 3.58 lakh votes set by her brother Rahul Gandhi in 2024.
Youth Congress chief Rahul Mamkoottathil won with a majority of 18,840 votes in Palakkad pushing BJP's C Krishnakumar, who polled 39549 votes (28.63 %) to the second slot. Rahul garnered 58389 (42.27 %) votes. LDF independent Dr P Sarin, who moved to the Left after Congress denied him seat, ended up in the third position with 37293 (27%) votes.
CPM candidate and ex-MLA UR Pradeep retained Chelakkara for CPM with a margin of 12,201 votes. UR Pradeep polled 64827 (41.44 %) votes while Congress' Ramya Haridas could win only 52626 (33.64 %) votes. BJP improved its performance from the last election as party candidate K Balakrishnan won 21.49 % (33609) votes.
The LDF and the BJP registered a substantial decrease in their vote share. While CPI's Sathyan Mokeri could win only 2.11 lakh votes compared to 2.83 polled by party national leader Annie Raja in 2024, BJP's young leader Navya Haridas got 1.09 lakh votes against 1.40 lakh votes won by party state chief K Surendran in 2024.
While the authentic victories in Palakkad and Wayanad have come as a confidence booster for opposition UDF, the LDF will be able to effective counter charges of anti-incumbency with its win in Chelakkara.
