Former Union Minister and Senior Congress leader Vayalar Ravi; IUML nominee and former member P.V. Abdul Wahab; and K. K. Ragesh of the CPI(M) were elected to Rajya Sabha in the biennial elections to the Upper House from Kerala on Monday.
While Mr. Ravi got 37 votes and Mr. Wahab 36 votes, Mr. Ragesh got 37 votes. K. Rajan of the CPI, who was fielded as the second candidate by the LDF, got only 29 votes.
The elections were held as sitting member Mr. Ravi, P. Rajeev of the CPI(M), and M.P. Achuthan (CPI) were due to complete their term this week. Mr. Ravi has been elected to the Rajya Sabha for the fourth term, Mr. Wahab for the second time and for the CPI(M) youth leader, Mr. Ragesh, it is the first term.
Expected lines
The internal strife within the UDF did not reflect in the polls as the results were on the expected lines. Former Chief Whip and dissident Kerala Congress (M) leader P.C. George, who is in the spotlight, voted for the United Democratic Front. Later, Mr. George expressed unhappiness over the Whip and the open vote. But, Kerala Congress (B) legislator K. B. Ganesh Kumar, who severed ties with the ruling front, voted for the Left Democratic Front (LDF) as expected. He had also voted for the LDF candidate in the election to the Speaker’s post.
All the 139 legislators who had voting rights in the Kerala Assembly exercised their franchise in the polling station in the Legislature complex. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy was the first to cast the vote at 9 a.m. and B. Satyan of the CPI(M) the last.
Although all the legislators exercised their franchise by 12 noon, the ballot boxes were sealed only at 4 p.m. after the completion of the polling time. The counting of votes was held as scheduled at 5 p.m.
Speaking to mediapersons after the results were declared, Mr. Ravi expressed happiness on being elected to the Upper House for the fourth term. Mr. Wahab said he would work for the development of the State and that he had no apprehensions about the victory. Mr. Ragesh said he was happy to be part of the Left Front in the Parliament that was acting as de-facto Opposition as the BJP was following the polices of the Congress.
