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Congress nominee sweeps bypoll in Kerala’s Thrikkakara with margin of 25,000 votes
Thiruvananthapuram: The ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) suffered a humiliating defeat in the Thrikkakara assembly by-election in Kerala on Friday after Congress candidate Uma Thomas defeated her CPI(M) rival Joe Joseph with a record margin of 25,000 votes
Thiruvananthapuram: The ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) suffered a humiliating defeat in the Thrikkakara assembly by-election in Kerala on Friday after Congress candidate Uma Thomas defeated her CPI(M) rival Joe Joseph with a record margin of 25,000 votes.
The electoral loss may turn out to be a personal setback for chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan who has often said people will vote for development and the poll will be a referendum on the performance of his government. This is the first by-election the Left Front government faced after winning its second consecutive term. The CM and his cabinet members camped in the traditional Congress bastion for several days to clinch a victory but failed to win the seat.
Uma Thomas secured 72,770 votes, CPI M)’s Joe Joseph 47,754 and the BJP’s N Radhakrishnan came in a distant third with 12,957 votes. The BJP’s vote share has decreased when compared to the 2021 assembly elections. Uma’s winning margin is the highest since the urban constituency came into existence, poll statistics show.
“I dedicate this victory to the people of Thrikkakara and my late husband P T Thomas. The ruling party used a number of tricks but people gave them a befitting reply. We need people-centric development, not the one propounded by the government crushing people’s concerns,” said Thomas after coming out of the counting station. She took the lead from the beginning and maintained it all through the counting process. Congress camps were jubilant throughout the state and workers distributed sweets and took out victory processions.
“It is a verdict against arrogance and highhandedness. After he got a second term, the CM forgot about people and their concerns and forcibly initiated a project called K-Rail (a high-speed rail project) which was never practical in a state like Kerala,” opposition leader V D Satheesan said.
Kerala Congress president K Sudhakaran sought the resignation of the CM. “He said the by-election will be a referendum. People handed over a crushing defeat to him and his party. If he has any respect for his words, he should resign,” the Congress state unit chief said. He asked the CM to respect the popular verdict and drop the K Rail project which is likely to end up in massive displacement and will also damage the environment of the coastal state.
The CPI (M) admitted that the outcome of the by-poll has been stunning. “We did not expect such an outcome. The party leadership will examine the reasons for the loss in detail,” said Ernakulam district secretary C N Mohanan. Joe Joseph congratulated the winner. “I feel I performed the role entrusted by the party well. For the rest, the party will discuss and decide,” he said.
The BJP, however, said a massive sympathy wave had led to Thomas’ victory. “P T Thomas was a popular leader and people loved him and gave a resounding mandate to Uma. It is a sympathy wave. The BJP somehow maintained its vote share in Thrikkakara,” he said. But statistics show a dip in votes and some leaders privately blamed the top BJP leadership for “glorifying former Kerala Congress leader P C George who was arrested for his alleged communal remarks on the eve of the election.”
