Sitting Congress MP and United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate Shashi Tharoor has emerged victorious for the third consecutive term from the Thiruvanathapuram Lok Sabha constituency by a record margin of 99,989 votes.
Dr. Tharoor succeeded in preventing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from opening its account in Kerala in one of most closely watched triangular contest between the Left Democratic Front (LDF), the UDF, and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the State capital.
NDA’s Kummanam Rajasekharan, senior BJP leader and former Governor of Mizoram, came second, while the LDF’s C. Divakaran, a former Minister and sitting CPI legislator of the Nedumangad Assembly constituency, was in the third spot.
In 2014, Mr. Tharoor had beaten O. Rajagopal of the BJP by 15,470 votes. The high victory margin this time is creditable considering the tough fight given by Mr. Rajasekharan and Mr. Divakaran and a varied political climate.
In 2009, Mr. Tharoor had defeated CPI’s P. Ramachandran Nair by 99,998 votes for his maiden entry to the Lok Sabha. In the 2014 polls, Thiruvananthapuram was the only constituency in the State where the BJP had managed to come second.
The Rahul Gandhi factor, resentment against the State government’s stance on the entry of women of all ages to Sabarimala, consolidation of minority votes, surge in coastal votes and the Left’s attempt to thwart the BJP’s rise in the Nemom and Kazhakuttam Assembly constituencies ensured a hat-trick to Dr. Tharoor.
The campaign by the LDF and the BJP that Mr. Tharoor had not nourished the constituency properly did nothing to dent his victory margin. Dr. Tharoor secured 41.25% of the votes, Mr. Rajasekharan 31.28% and Mr. Divakaran 25.55% .
Of the seven Assembly segments under the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency, Mr. Tharoor had comfortable leads in Kazhakuttam, Vattiyurkavu, Thiruvananthapuram, Parassala, Kovalam, and Neyyattinkara. But in the Nemom constituency represented by Mr. Rajagopal in the Assembly, Mr. Rajasekharan pipped Dr. Tharoor to the second spot.
Mr. Rajasekharan came second in Vattiyurkavu, Thiruvananthapuram. However, he came third in Parassala and Neyyattinkara, where the BJP had high expectations. Mr. Divakaran was pushed to the third place in Vattiyurkavu, Thiruvananthapuram, and Nemom Assembly constituencies.
