KOCHI: The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) registered a thumping victory on Friday in the Puthuppally assembly bypoll on the back of a sympathy wave for late party veteran and two-time chief minister Oommen Chandy whose death in July necessitated the election.
As per the Election Commission, Congress candidate Chandy Oommen, son of the deceased leader, defeated CPI(M)’s Jaick C Thomas by a staggering 37,719 votes, the highest margin for any winning candidate in the constituency. While Oommen got 80,144 votes, Thomas received 42,425 votes followed by BJP candidate Ligin Lal with 6,558 votes.
In comparison with the 2021 assembly election, the Congress vote share in Puthuppally rose by 13.3% while the CPI(M) vote share plummeted by 8.73%. The BJP’s vote share also went down by 3.82%.
The CPI(M)’s performance was so severe that it could not get a lead in any of the 13 rounds of counting or in the eight local self-governing bodies that make up the constituency. Despite governing six of the eight panchayats, the CPI(M) trailed everywhere. Even in the booths of its candidate Thomas and that of district-in-charge minister VN Vasavan, the party was behind the Congress.
Oommen, the national convenor of the outreach cell of the Youth Congress who had participated full-time in the Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi last year, was considered the front runner in this election ever since his candidacy was announced by the Congress. Puthuppally, located in Kottayam district in central Kerala, was represented by his father for 12 consecutive terms since 1970. Thanks to his personal rapport with the people and the Congress’ hold over the Christian community, which comprises nearly 40 per cent of the population in Puthuppally, the constituency had become a party bastion over the years. Since Chandy’s death on July 18, his grave at the St George Orthodox Church continues to be visited by hundreds of people who light candles and offer prayers.
{{/usCountry}}Oommen, the national convenor of the outreach cell of the Youth Congress who had participated full-time in the Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi last year, was considered the front runner in this election ever since his candidacy was announced by the Congress. Puthuppally, located in Kottayam district in central Kerala, was represented by his father for 12 consecutive terms since 1970. Thanks to his personal rapport with the people and the Congress’ hold over the Christian community, which comprises nearly 40 per cent of the population in Puthuppally, the constituency had become a party bastion over the years. Since Chandy’s death on July 18, his grave at the St George Orthodox Church continues to be visited by hundreds of people who light candles and offer prayers.
{{/usCountry}}On Friday noon, when EC trends indicated his victory, Oommen came out of his residence and walked to his father’s grave where he knelt down and wept. Later at a press conference following his victory, Oommen said, “I consider this my father’s 13th victory. It is the victory of all those who loved my father. I promise to never break the trust the voters have placed in me. This is a mandate for the continuation of development that my father undertook here for the last 53 years.”
At the same time, Congress state president K Sudhakaran underlined that sympathy for Chandy was just one of the factors that contributed to the victory. “This is 100% a political victory. The sympathy factor may have been there, but this is also a decisive verdict against the arrogance of the chief minister and the flawed administrative policies of the LDF. Where did the CPI(M)’s core votes go? Those votes have also come to us,” he said.
Achu Oommen, Chandy’s daughter, told reporters, “This victory is a tight slap on the faces of those who harassed and tortured my father when he was alive. The people have clearly said that the work my father did in the last 53 years will continue. The constituency he adored and looked after for all these years is safe in the hands of Chandy Oommen.”
CPI(M) state secretary MV Govindan attributed the UDF’s massive win to the public sympathy and respect for Oommen Chandy and denied any major change in his party’s core vote-bank in the constituency.
“It was clear that when an election is held within just days of the death of a big leader like Oommen Chandy, there will be large sentiments of sympathy which will override politics. We have dealt with the election in a political way, but we always knew the influence of sympathy. But even in the face of this wave, the foundation of the LDF remains intact and there are no cracks. This defeat is not a challenge to the state government because we have discussed the government’s achievements there and our foundational vote share still remains in place,” said Govindan in Thiruvananthapuram.
BJP state president K Surendran admitted the party’s defeat and said that it would examine where nearly 5,000 of its core votes went.
Polling in Puthuppally was held on Tuesday and 72.8% turnout was recorded.