Former Congress leader K Karunakaran's Democratic Indira Congress-Karunakaran, which had teamed up with the Congress, appeared to be trailing as counting of votes in the Assembly polls began.
Karunakaran's son K Muraleedharan was trailing by 3,600 votes in Koduvally seat in Kozhikode district.
Likewise, former minister and seven-times legislator TM Jacob, the parliamentary party leader of DIC-K, was also trailing at Piravom in Ernakulam district by more than 3,500 votes.
At Aranmula, DIC-K candidate and former legislator Maleth Sarala Devi was in the third position as counting progressed.
DIC-K is contesting 18 seats and initial reports indicated that all 18 candidates were trailing.
Karunakaran had split from the Congress last May to form his party.
For almost seven months, he hobnobbed with the opposition and declared war on the United Democratic Front.
But in January, the Communist Party of India - Marxist dumped him and he was forced to come back to the Congress-led UDF fold.