Scripting a massive victory in the district, the CPI(M)-led LDF has claimed 13 of the 14 Assembly segments, reducing the UDF tally from three seats to one and ''closing'' the BJP account in Nemom.
Retaining its 10 seats, the LDF wrested Aruvikkara and Thiruvananthapuram constituencies from the UDF and the Nemom seat from the BJP to take its tally to 13. The LDF has won the following constituencies: Varkala, Attingal, Chirayinkeezhu, Nedumangad, Vamanapuram, Kazhakuttam, Vattiyurkavu, Thiruvananthapuram, Nemom, Aruvikkara, Parassala, Kattakada and Neyyattinkara.
Two sitting MLAs lose
Much to the dismay of the UDF, two of its sitting MLAs — K.S. Sabarinadhan in Aruvikkara and V. S. Sivakumar in Thiruvananthapuram — were decimated by the red wave that swept through the southern district. Sitting Congress MLA M. Vincent defeated Neelalohitadasan Nadar of the Janata Dal (Secular) in Kovalam to win the UDF its lone seat.
Kazhakuttam gifted a second term to sitting MLA and Minister Kadakampally Surendran who defeated his nearest rival Sobha Surendran of the BJP by a margin of 23,497 votes. Mr. Surendran won 63,690 votes, Ms. Surendran 40,193 and the Congress candidate, S. S. Lal, 32,995 votes in Kazhakuttam.
The BJP lost its lone seat Nemom, with V. Sivankutty of the CPI(M) defeating BJP’s Kummanam Rajasekharan by 3,949 votes. Mr. Sivankutty won 55,837 votes and Mr. Rajasekharan 51,888 votes. K. Muraleedharan MP of the Congress was pushed to third place with 36,524 votes.
In Varkala, sitting MLA V. Joy of the CPI(M) trounced B.R.M. Shafeer of the Congress by 17,821 votes. Mr. Joy polled 68,816 votes and Mr. Shafeer 50,995. CPI(M) candidate O.S. Ambika, who replaced B. Sathyan in Attingal, defeated nearest rival P. Sudheer of the BJP by 31,636 votes. Ms. Ambika, who has also become the lone woman MLA in the district, won 69,898 votes against Mr. Sudheer's 38,262.
Sitting CPI(M) MLA K. Ansalan defeated Selvaraj R. of the UDF by 14,262 votes to retain Neyyattinkara. Mr. Ansalan won 65,497 votes and Mr. Selvaraj 51,235. CPI(M)'s V. K. Prasanth, a former Mayor, successfully defended Vattiyurkavu, defeating V.V. Rajesh of the BJP by 21,515 votes. Mr. Prasanth won 61,111 votes and Mr. Rajesh 39,596. Veena S. Nair of the Congress was pushed to third place with 35,455 votes.
UDF shocked
In Aruvikkara, newcomer G. Stephen shocked the UDF, defeating sitting MLA K. Sabarinadhan by 5,046 votes. Mr. Stephen won 66,776 votes, Mr. Sabarinadhan 61,370 votes. D. K. Murali, the sitting CPI(M) MLA in Vamanapuram, defeated Anad Jayan by 10,242 votes. Mr. Murali won 73,137 votes, and Mr. Jayan, 62,895.
Meanwhile, Parassala re-elected C.K. Hareendran who won 78,548 votes to defeat A.N. Sajitha Ressal of the Congress party (52,720) by a margin of 25,828 votes.
LDF's Antony Raju of the Janadhipathya Kerala Congress shocked sitting Congress MLA V. S. Sivakumar in Thiruvananthapuram. Mr. Raju won 48,748 votes, defeating two-time MLA Mr. Sivakumar (41,659) by a margin of 7,089 votes. Actor Krishnakumar G., the BJP candidate, finished third, winning 34,996 votes.
In Kattakada, sitting CPI(M) MLA I.B. Satheesh (66,293) defeated Malayinkeezhu Venugopal of the Congress (43,062) by a margin of 23,231 votes. P.K. Krishnadas of the BJP (34,642) was pushed to third spot. CPI's G.R. Anil defeated P.S. Prasanth of the Congress by a margin of 23,309 votes in Nedumangad. Mr. Anil won 72,742 votes and Mr. Prasanth 49,433. BJP's J.R. Padmakumar won 26,861 votes. In Chirayinkeezhu, Sitting MLA V. Sasi of the CPI defeated B.S. Anoop of the Congress by 14,017 votes. Mr. Sasi won 62,634 votes and Mr. Anoop 48,617.
In Kovalam, Congress's M. Vincent defeated Neelalohitadasan Nadar of the JD(S) by a margin of 11,562 votes. Mr. Vincent won 74,868 votes and Mr. Nadar 63306 votes.
