Oommen Chandy’s son Chandy Oommen poised to win big in Puthuppally assembly by-election

Chandy Oommen of Congress leads by over 25,000 votes over CPM's Jaick C Thomas in the Kerala constituency bypoll, necessitated by the death of the former CM.

Chandy Oommen of the Congress was headed to a massive victory on Friday in the by-election held in Kerala's Puthuppally assembly constituency, Election Commission trends at 11:30am showed. Chandy Oommen is the son of the late Oommen Chandy, veteran Congress leader and former chief minister of Kerala, whose death necessitated the by-election.

Chandy Oommen with family members after casting vote during bypolls at Puthuppally in Kottayam district on September 5. (PTI)

After nine rounds of counting, Oommen led by more than 25,000 votes over the nearest CPM candidate Jaick C Thomas, with BJP candidate Ligin Lal coming in third. Six more rounds of counting were awaited.

Oommen collected 54,644 votes and Thomas got 29,258 votes, while Lal was far behind with just 4,729 votes. There were a total of six candidates in the fray. As the trends portended a victory, Oommen walked towards the grave of his father at the St George Orthodox Church. He kneeled before the grave and wept.

If these trends hold, Oommen could go on to achieve the biggest majority a Congress candidate has in the constituency. He would be best his father's record of 33,000 votes in the 2011 assembly election.

The trends confirmed a massive sympathy wave in favour of Oommen on account of his father who held the seat in the assembly for a record 53 years through 12 terms. The constituency in Kottayam district in central Kerala has remained a Congress bastion for decades due to Chandy's personal popularity as well as his party's hold over the Christian community, which forms nearly 40 per cent of the population. Among Christians, Catholics, Orthodox Syrian and Jacobite Syrian communities are in large numbers.

Achu Oommen, Chandy's daughter, told reporters the victory was a tight slap on the faces of those who harassed and tortured her 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."