Lok Sabha results: Vijayan govt suffers backlash; UDF wins in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: The 20 Parliamentary constituencies are Kasaragod, Kannur, Vatakara, Wayanad, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Ponnani, Palakkad, Alathur, Thrissur, Chalakudy, Ernakulam, Idukki, Kottayam, Alappuzha, Mavelikkara, Pathanamthitta, Kollam, Attingal and Thiruvananthapuram. The UDF won in 19 out of 20 Lok Sabha constituencies in Kerala. AM Arif of the LDF has taken the lead in Alappuzha. The exit polls had foretold that the UDF will bag more than half the seats in the state.

Here are some of the important constituencies where political drama unfolded.

Rahul Gandhi won by overall 4 lakh votes in Wayanad, Kerala. But, the Congress president lost in Amethi. Wayanad leaders also claimed that after 20 years, this is the first time where a vast voter turnout has been witnessed. Congress candidate Rahul Gandhi, NDA candidate Thushar Vellappally and CPI candidate PP Suneer are the key candidates from Wayanad. 

In Thiruvananthapuram, it was a tight competition. However, Congress candidate Shashi Tharoor won the constituency with 4,14,057 votes, BJP's Kummanam Rajashekharan won the second position with 3,13,925 votes. Shashi Tharoor said to media that he felt like a batsman, who has hit a century, while his team lost the match.

In Ayyappa's land, Congress's Anto Antony won and CPI(M) Veena George took the second position. BJP's K Surendran couldn't get a seat, but the vote percentage of the BJP increased in the district. The constituency holds significant importance as it is home to Kerala's ancient shrine Sabarimala. 

MK Raghavan, Congress leader and UDF candidate from Kozhikode, Kerala, grabbed headlines after he was accused in a bribery scandal case just a couple of days before the election. Today, Raghavan has won the seat and he said to media that he is happy that Kozhikode people stood by him during his difficult times. Other candidates from Kozhikode are A Pradeep Kumar of the CPI(M) and KP Prakash Babu of the BJP. 

PK Kunhalikutty, the leader of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and the UDF candidate in Malappuram Lok Sabha won in the constituency. He took a dig at the CPI(M) saying, “We are a bigger party than the Communist Party of India (Marxist).”

Here is the complete list of Kerala Lok Sabha results: