With the UDF making a clean sweep in the Lok Sabha polls, it is interesting to note what the numbers have to say. The Election Commission (EC) has published the party-wise vote share.
Predictably, the vote share of the UDF, which won 19 out of 20 seats, has jumped from 42.08% in the 2014 elections to 47.25% in the 2019 edition.
The LDF's share dipped from 40.23% in 2014 to 35.2% this time.
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While the BJP-led NDA failed to win even a single seat, its vote share has gone up. In 2014, the NDA had bagged 10.85% of the votes. In 2019, the front's share has risen to 15.20%, with the BJP accounting for 12.93% of the votes, as per EC data.
Partywise, the Congress took home 37.27% of the votes in 2019. Five years ago, the grand old party’s Kerala unit had managed 31%.
The CPI(M) which contested in 16 seats in 2019 as against the 15 in 2014, also increased its individual vote share from 22% to 25.83%, as per EC data.
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The Communist Party of India, which failed to score a single victory, saw its vote share dipping from 8% in 2014 to 6.05 %.
IUML constant
The IUML’s share remained constant with the party taking home 5.45% of the votes. Kerala Congress (Mani) and the RSP accounted for 2.07% and 2.45% respectively this time, a slight increase from 2014. In Vadakara, one of the keenly watched constituencies, K. Muraleedharan cornered over 5.26 lakh votes, increasing the UDF share from 43.48% (Mullapally Ramachandran in 2014) to 49.6%.
In high-profile Wayanad, the candidature of Rahul Gandhi ensured that the UDF share climbed to a whopping 64% from 41.2%.
Ramya Haridas of the UDF wrested Alathur from the LDF by claiming over 50% of the votes.
The BJP, despite ending up third in Pathanamthitta, managed to bag almost 30% of the votes. Same went for Thrissur where actor Suresh Gopi increased the saffron party's share to around 28%.
In Thiruvananthapuram, Shashi Tharoor, performing a hat-trick, increased his share from 34.2% to around 41% in the process.