The United Democratic Front (UDF) on Thursday scripted a sweeping victory in the by-elections held to the two wards in Ajanur grama panchayat near Kanhangad. In Ward No. 4 (Madiyan), UDF nominee M.M. Abdur Rahman retained the seat with a margin of 424 votes at the elections held on Wednesday.
While Mr. Rahman got 847 votes, P. Ramakrishnan, his CPI(M) rival, could muster just 423 votes. BJP’s T.V. Anitha polled 227 votes.
UDF nominee U.V. Hassainar had won the seat with a margin of 326 votes in the 2010 election in the ward. The by-election was necessitated by the death of Mr. Hassainar.
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UDF won from Ward No. 21 (Chithari) of the panchayat with a margin of 714 votes. While UDF nominee V. Ramakrishnan polled 768 votes, the LDF candidate M. Vijayan’s could get only 54 votes. P. Pavithran of the BJP had to contend with just three votes in the locality, which has a sizeable population of Muslim community.
In Kannur
Special Correspondent writes from Kannur: The UDF won the by-election to the Nallur ward in the Muzhakkunnu panchayat. UDF candidate K.C. Ramakrishnan of the Congress won the seat in the by-election held on Wednesday by a margin of 143 votes. He defeated the CPI(M)'s P.V. Padmanabhan.
The by-election was necessitated by the death of the CPI(M) ward member Santhosh Babu who had committed suicide in a suicide pact with his wife and daughter in October last year.