Lok Sabha Elections: Adoor Prakash retains Attingal seat following a see-saw contest with V. Joy

Lok Sabha Elections: Adoor Prakash appears poised to retain Attingal following a see-saw contest with V. Joy

In one of the most closely fought election contests in recent memory in Kerala, sitting MP Adoor Prakash of the United Democratic Front (UDF) emerged as the winner in the Attingal Lok Sabha constituency by defeating the Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate V. Joy by a slender margin of 684 votes.

Though Mr. Prakash had emerged victorious by 1,708 votes on conclusion of the normal rounds of counting, the LDF demanded a recounting, leading to a fall in the margin. Later, the front demanded a count of the postal ballots that were rejected, leading to a delay in the declaration of the final results. But, its dream of reclaiming its stronghold which it lost to the UDF in 2019 after three consecutive victories, remained unfulfilled.

Mr. Prakash secured 3,28,051 votes while Mr. Joy got 3,27,367 votes. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate and Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan ended up third with 3,11,779 votes, but only after turning it into a tight triangular contest. Curiously, amid the small margin that separated the three major candidates, NOTA came fourth with 9,791 votes.

Even as the lead positions stabilised in the rest of the constituencies in Kerala by afternoon, the fortunes of the LDF and UDF candidates in the Attingal constituency continued see-sawing, shifting the attention of almost the entire State to the constituency. Over the course of the day, the lead positions kept shifting between Mr. Prakash and Mr. Joy. The drama continued late into the night following the recounting demand of the LDF.

Though the LDF was expected to pose a stiff challenge to the sitting MP, with a good part of the district party machinery of the CPI(M) managing a strong grass-root level campaign to ensure a victory for the party’s district secretary, the surprising show put up by the BJP appeared to have upset the calculations of both the fronts. The BJP, which increased its vote share from 24.97% to 31.64% with an increase of over 59,000 votes compared to the 2019 general elections, made inroads even into some of the strongholds of the LDF and UDF. Compared to 2014, when it managed only 10% votes, the BJP’s growth in the constituency is quite significant.

Despite the fact that Mr. Prakash managed to fend off a strong challenge and retain the seat, the fall in the vote share from 38.34% to 33.29% could be a cause for worry. The LDF’s vote share decrease was comparatively marginal from 34.50% to 33.22%.

Out of the seven Assembly segments in Attingal, all of which are currently held by the LDF, the front could manage to lead only in Attingal and Varkala, which Mr. Joy currently represents in the Assembly. Mr. Joy attributed minority consolidation in favour of the UDF, owing to fears of a BJP win, to his narrow defeat.