Anoop’s margin a sonstroke on LDF

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The nine-month-old Oommen Chandy government on Wednesday won a resounding mandate in Piravom by-election as voters elected the ruling UDF candidate, Anoop Jacob, by a margin of 12,070 votes in a contest billed as a referendum on the government, perched on a wafer-thin majority.

Anoop Jacob, 34, of Kerala Congress (J), established leads over his nearest rival, Mr M.J. Jacob (CPM), in 10 out of 12 panchayats and in his own booth as well as that of the rival.

The lead surged once 20 percent of votes was counted unlike the seesaw in May 2011 when his late father, T. M. Jacob, won by a mere 157 votes in a nail-biting finish against M. J. Jacob.

Anoop Jacob dedicated his victory to his father and said it was a vote for the continuation of the Chandy Government. M. J . Jacob blamed his defeat to UDF’s underhand games.

Anoop Jacob will swear in as a legislator at the Assembly hall on Thursday at 9.30 am. His mother, Daisy Jacob, initially billed to join the fray, said the exceptional UDF unity ensured the thumping margin this time.

She thanked the people of Piravom for the love shown to her late husband. Jacob got 82,756 votes while his LDF rival polled 70,686 votes. BJP’s K.R. Rajagopal finished a poor third with 3,241 votes. The total polled votes stood at 158,055, nearly 20,000 more than May 2011 polls. Over 2011, the UDF tally went up by 16,253 votes and LDF’s 4,340 votes while BJP lost 993 votes.

The UDF vote share climbed five per cent to 52.3 percent and the LDF by three per cent to 44.6 percent compared to 2011. The UDF now has 73 (including one Anglo-Indian nominee) and LDF 67.

The large turnout of women (87.18 percent compared to 85.43 percent males) was reckoned as a factor that contributed to the big UDF win.

In Andhra Pradesh, Congress drew a blank in the bypolls to seven constituencies. In a loss of face to the ruling BJP in Karnataka, the Congress wrested the Udupi-Chikmagalur Lok Sabha seat from it, causing an embarrassment to CM D. V. Sadananda Gowda, who had represented the constituency before becoming the CM.