LDF makes a clean sweep in Pathanamthitta
The Hindu
All five seats bagged by Left front
Riding on the momentum it gained during the recent local body elections, the Left Democratic Front has once against struck deep into the United Democratic Front bastions of Pathanamthitta to make a clean sweep of the district. Of the five assembly seats, four seats were retained by their respective sitting legislators while the lone remaining seat went to the Kerala Congess (M). In Thiruvalla, Janata Dal (Secular) leader Mathew T Thomas , who bagged 62,178 votes, defeated Kunju Koshy Paul of the Kerala Congress by 11,421 votes, as per figures put out by the Election Commission. In Ranni, which witnessed a neck and neck fight between the UDF and the LDF till the last moment, Pramod Narayan of the KC(M) edged out Rinku Cherian of the Congress by a slender margin of 1,285 votes.The election authorities are gearing up for the counting of votes cast in the simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh, scheduled to be held on June 4. The Collectors and Election Officers of Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli and Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) districts said on May 23 (Thursday) that their teams were ready for the counting of votes.
Responding to the prolonged water scarcity, the residents of the area took to the streets in protest on Wednesday. The protest, which drew attention to their plight, stopped only after the intervention of the police. It was not until 1.30 p.m. that a 4000-litre tanker was finally delivered by BWSSB, providing relief to the water-starved residents.