Thumping victory for UDF, relief for Left Front

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi secured a resounding victory in her electoral debut in Wayanad by surpassing the margin secured by her brother Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha election held earlier this year. Meanwhile, Youth Congress state president Rahul Mamkootathil registered a thumping victory in the Palakkad assembly constituency, which witnessed a series of controversies ahead of the by-election. The UDF is celebrating its resounding victory in both its sitting seats in the state.

At the same time, the victory of UR Pradeep in the Chelakkara assembly constituency saved the face of the Pinarayi government and the LDF.

The BJP suffered a setback in Palakkad. Although it retained the second spot in the constituency, the party saw a substantial decline of over 10,000 votes compared to its 2021 election performance. At the same time, it gained an additional 9500 votes in Chelakkara through K Balakrishnan.

Priyanka Gandhi won in Wayanad with a majority of 4,10,931 votes, surpassing Rahul Gandhi's majority of 3,66,420 votes in the elections held earlier this year. In Palakkad, Rahul Mamkootathil secured a record-breaking majority of 18,840 votes- six times more than Shafi Parambil's majority of 3,858 in 2021.

UR Pradeep won the Chelakkara constituency with a majority of 12,201 votes. This is nearly double the majority of 5763 votes that K Radhakrishnan secured from Chelakkara in the parliamentary election held earlier this year. However, in 2021, Radhakrishnan had won in Chelakkara by a huge margin of 39400 votes.

No anti-government sentiment

• Through the LDF candidate's win in Chelakkara, the state government was able to establish that the UDF's claims of strong anti-government sentiment were unfounded.
• The UDF's dream to come to power in 2026 has gained momentum with the party's impressive performance in Palakkad and Wayanad.
• The BJP feels that the Centre's action of not providing special aid to landslide-hit Wayanad and the internal conflicts within the state unit of the party resulted in the party's setback in the by-elections. This could serve as a wake-up call for the party.