Wresting its only sitting seat from the CPI in the country, Congress’s T.N. Prathapan registered a thumping victory in Thrissur Lok Sabha Constituency with a majority of 93,633 votes.
At the end of a triangular tussle, Mr. Prathapan secured 4,15,089 votes while CPI candidate Rajaji Mathew Thomas got 3,21,456 votes. BJP candidate Suresh Gopi bagged 2,93,822 votes.
Victory of Mr. Prathapan, the Thrissur DCC President and a three-time MLA, becomes more stunning as the LDF is in power in all the seven assembly constituencies in Thrissur. Interestingly, Mr. Prathapan came first in all the Assembly constituencies. The CPI fielded Mr. Rajaji, former Ollur MLA, replacing sitting MP C.N. Jayadevan. Mr. Jayadevan won in 2014 against K.P. Dhanapalan of the Congress by 38,227 votes. Thrissur constituency had sent CPI candidates to Parliament 10 times before. However, the electorate in Thrissur is quite unpredictable. It always weighs possibilities meticulously.
Mass leader
Mr. Prathapan with his influence in the coastal belt and vast personal contacts beyond political affiliations, is considered as a mass leader. His man next-door image and performance during the tenures as MLA had helped him to reach out to people.With the defeat of Mr. Rajaji, the editor of party organ Janayugam, the CPI has lost its only sitting seat in the country.
Thrissur constituency witnessed a triangular contest after cine actor Suresh Gopi became BJP candidate as BDJS’s Thushar Vellappally was shifted to Wayanad. Thrissur was one of the four seats, the BJP had pinned its hope on.
The religious undercurrents play a crucial role in electoral battles in Thrissur, which has 51% of minority votes. (35% Christians and 16% Muslims.) Manoeuvring the religious and caste composition determines the outcome of elections.
The BJP had raised the Sabarimala issue right from the beginning of campaign with the hope of polarising the Hindu votes. Mr. Gopi, who raised the issue during his campaigns, even invited wrath of the Election Commission.
It is observed that the minority votes shifted towards the UDF in a big way this time to increase its majority.
When the Congress made a substantial increase of 64,107 votes than the 2014 polls, the CPI witnessed a decline of 67,753 votes. However, the BJP made an impressive improvement in its vote share by 91,141 votes. It even reached in the second position in Thrissur Assembly constituency.
The UDF has now registeed the highest majority of 93,633 votes since the constitution of Thrissur constituency. A majority of 51,290 votes, won by P.A. Antony in 1984, is the previous record. The CPI’s C.N. Jayadevan won by 38,227 votes in 2014.