Oommen Chandy wins election for ninth time

Thiruvananthapuram, May 11: Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy today won the Puthupally seat for the ninth consecutive time by a margin of over 19,000 votes even as the Congress-led United Democratic Front lost the Assembly elections.

He defeated CPI(M) rival Sindu Joy, president of the state unit of the Students Federation of India (SFI), by 19,863 votes.

The electoral battle in the constituency had attracted national attention as both the candidates were on crutches during the campaigning.

While Mr Chandy suffered a fall during his trip to Davos and broke his hip, Ms Joy suffered a leg injury in a grenade blast while leading a students' agitation a few months ago. Both the candidates have not fully recovered and need to take recourse to walking aids.

UNI