Uma Thomas wins Thrikkakara Assembly seat by huge margin

The Thrikkakara bypoll was held in the wake of the death of P T Thomas, who had represented the Congress citadel since 2016.

Kochi:In a fiercely fought bypoll, the Congress retained the Thrikkakara Assembly seat in Kerala’s Ernakulam district, where the counting of votes was held on Friday. Congress candidate Uma Thomas, the widow of late legislator P T Thomas, defeated her nearest rival Dr Jo Joseph of the CPI(M) by a margin of over 25,000 votes as the counting progressed in the final lap.

Right from the beginning of counting, Uma maintained a clear lead and kept her margin increasing with each passing round. The bypoll was held in the wake of the death of P T Thomas, who had represented the Congress citadel since 2016. Thomas had a margin of 14,300 votes in 2021, but his wife Uma is poised to win by a much higher margin.

The bypoll outcome has dashed the hopes of the ruling LDF which had strived to raise its tally in the 140-member Legislative Assembly to 100. It is also likely to be considered as a setback for the CPI(M)-led state government as the polls are seen as a referendum on the Left front’s rule. The government is currently in its second consecutive tenure in the state.

The campaign was led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his team of ministers. A long array of Left leaders visited the constituency as part of its door-to-door campaign. Vijayan had camped in the constituency and monitored the campaign machinery at the micro-level. As the proposed semi high-speed rail corridor passes through the urban constituency of Thrikkakara, Vijayan and his government had looked at the verdict as a mandate for development.