Chengannur Assembly Bypoll Counting LIVE Updates
Chengannur Assembly Bypoll Counting LIVE Updates: The direct contest between Congress, CPI(M) and BJP in Kerala's Chengannur Assembly bypoll would be decided on Thursday when the Election Commission will count the votes.
The Chenganur Assembly registered at least 76 per cent voter turnout in the bypoll necessitated by the death of sitting MLA KK Ramachandran Nair (CPI(M)) in January this year due to illness.
WATCH LIVE:
CHENGANNUR ASSEMBLY BYPOLL RESULTS LIVE UPDATES:
08:55 am: CPI(M)'s Saji Cheriyan is leading in Kerala's Chengannur after first few rounds of counting.
08:28 am: Counting of votes has started. Postal ballots are being counted first.
The battle for Chengannur is between the ruling CPI(M)'s Saji Cheriyan, Congress leader D Vijayakumar and the BJP's PS Sreedharan Pillai.
Over 150 polling booths and 17 auxiliary booths were set up across the constituency. There was heightened presence of security personnel at over 20 sensitive booths where surveillance cameras were installed.
An unprecedented anxiety had gripped the political fronts in the state- the ruling LDF, opposition UDF and NDA as its outcome is crucial to all three as the Lok Sabha elections are hardly a year away.
The result of the by-election is widely seen as a referendum on the performance of both the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government in the state and the Narendra Modi government at the Centre, which has completed four years in office.
Winning the seat is significant for the Congress also as it is an opportunity for them to wrest its traditional constituency back from arch-rival CPI(M) and to boost the confidence among partymen who are gearing up for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.