BJP wins three Assembly seats in Kerala amid strong NDA showing
The BJP secured victories in Nemom, Kazhakoottam and Chathannoor constituencies in the Kerala Assembly elections. BJP leaders Rajeev Chandrasekhar and V Muraleedharan described the results as a strong response to rivals who had predicted the party would fail to win seats
Thiruvananthapuram: Three Lotuses bloomed in Kerala as the BJP on Monday won the Nemom, Kazhakoottam and Chathannoor constituencies in the April 9 Assembly polls.
BJP Kerala president Rajeev Chandrasekhar confirmed that the party-led NDA won the Nemom and Chathannoor constituencies, and termed it a reply to the Congress and CPI(M)’s assertions that the BJP would not get even one seat.
“Today, the people of Nemom and Chathannoor have given a clear reply to the Congress and CPI(M). There will be two MLAs from the BJP-NDA,” he said.
V Muraleedharan, who contested from the Kazhakoottam Assembly seat, confirmed his win and thanked party workers and supporters for their “hard work and sacrifices”.
According to the Election Commission of India website, BJP candidate from Chathannoor in Kollam district, B B Gopakumar, won by 4,398 votes after completion of all 16 rounds of counting in the constituency.
In Nemom, Chandrasekhar was ahead by over 3,500 votes after completion of 16 out of the 18 rounds of counting in the constituency, according to EC data.
In Kazhakoottam, Muraleedharan was ahead by 265 votes after completion of 17 of the 18 rounds of counting.
Chandrasekhar, speaking to reporters at the party headquarters here, also said that, as contended by him from the beginning, “this was an anti-CPI(M) election” as the people were “fed up with their corruption and alleged misappropriation of gold from Sabarimala”.
He also termed the Assembly elections and bypolls held recently in the country, including in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, as being against the “INDI Alliance”.
Chandrasekhar said that right from the start of the election campaign, both the Congress and CPI(M) had claimed that the BJP would not get even one seat.
He also said that he knew from the beginning that the CPI(M) would not win this time, no matter what it did.
As counting of votes neared completion, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) was ahead in over 100 seats, while the CPI(M)-headed Left Democratic Front was leading in less than 40 seats.