In a major relief to the Congress that is trailing nationally, the UDF is leading in all 20 seats in Kerala. Key candidates including Shashi Tharoor and Rahul Gandhi are leading by comfortable margins from Thiruvananthapuram and Wayanad seats, respectively. This is the first time in near history that such a trend is visible where a party is leading from all the Lok Sabha constituencies in a state.
In 2014, the CPI(M) had won eight seats in Kerala, while the UDF had won from 12 seats. The early trend is a clear indication that the electorate has decided to vote against the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government in Kerala. It is speculated that the CPI(M) government’s handling of the Sabarimala issue coupled with the devastating floods last year, has led to sentiments turning against the state government.The CPI(M) will be in a precarious position if it ends up with zero seats in Kerala.
As opposed to exit polls, the NDA candidates have not made much gains in Kerala. BJP candidates Kummanam Rajasekharan, Suresh Gopi and K. Surendran are trailing in their respective seats. Clearly, the BJP’s attempt to politicise the Sabarimala temple issue has not gone well with the electorate of Kerala.
Here are the major leads as of 10am:
1. K. Sudhakaran (Kannur) leading by 11,000 votes
2. Anto Antony (Pathanamthitta) leading by 9,169 votes
3. Shashi Tharoor (Thiruvananthapuram) leading by 4,000 votes
4. Rahul Gandhi (Wayanad) leading by 48,977 votes
5. K. Muraleedharan (Vadakara) leading by 1,541 votes
6. T.N. Prathapan (Thrissur) leading by 6,713 votes
7. Benny Behanan (Chalakudy) leading by 15,176 votes
All sitting MPs of the Left front, including M.B. Rajesh, P.K. Sreemathi and Innocent are trailing in their respective seats.
