In one of the fiercest electoral fights between two young candidates, LDF’s M.B. Rajesh defeated UDF incumbent V.T. Balram in Thrithala.
Mr. Rajesh stalled the attempt of Mr. Balram for a third term from Thrithala when he beat him by 3,173 votes. Mr. Balram conceded defeat through a social media posts even before the counting was over.
Mr. Balram, seeking a third term from Thrithala, faced a tough challenge in Thrithala as the CPI(M) fielded Mr. Rajesh against him. Mr. Balram had taken early leads as the counting progressed slowly.
However, the tides turned against him when the counting entered the final rounds. Thrithala had captured wide attention when the CPI(M) fielded its former Lok Sabha member M.B. Rajesh against Mr. Balram. He was more than an adversary for the CPI(M) in Thrithala. He has been treated as an enemy since he started attacking the CPI(M), its ideology and its leaders a few years ago.
The face-off between the CPI(M) and Mr. Balram had led to many showdowns, both on social media and in physical mode. The CPI(M) has been boycotting Mr. Balram in Thrithala for the last several years. Mr. Balram had reportedly become used to insults from the CPI(M). On many occasions, the CPI(M) local leaders had insulted him by walking away from stages of even official programmes whenever he mounted the podium.
For about two decades until 2011, the CPI(M) had represented Thrithala in the Assembly. It was Mr. Balram who checked the CPI(M) juggernaut in Thrithala. In 2011, he beat CPI(M)’s P. Mammikutty by 3,197 votes.
In 2016, he defeated the CPI(M)’s Subaida Ishac by 10,547 votes.
Mr. Rajesh is being elected for the first time to the Assembly.
A State committee member of the CPI(M), Mr. Rajesh is a postgraduate in economics and also has a law degree. He was SFI State secretary, DYFI State and national president.
