LDF retain Thiruvambadi seat with slender margin

Kozhikode, Dec 7 (UNI) The Left Democratic Front in Kerala today managed to retain the prestigious Thiruvambadi Assembly seat with a slender margin of 246 votes, the first by-election after the ruling coalition assumed office seven months ago.

LDF candidate George M Thomas (CPI-M), with 64,112 votes, defeated his nearest rival United Democratic Front's V M Ummer of the Indian Union Muslim League, who polled 63,866 votes.

BJP's Gireesh Thevally accounted for 4,758 votes whereas Independent candidates Ummer Master, V P Ummer and George M Thomas walked away with 1522, 422 and 917 votes respectively.

Although the LDF polled 64,112 votes, an increase of 3,008 against 61,104 polled in the May 2006 election by its member Mathai Chacko, whose death necessitated the bypoll, its winning margin this time declined to a narrow 246 against the previous 5,479.

The UDF, which had the distinction of winning all the elections since the delimitation of the constituency in 1977, also increased its margin by 8,241 votes as against 55,625 polled by its candidate M C Mayin Hajee, thanks to a record 84.24 per cent voting.

The by-poll assumed significance as this was the first major electoral battle between the LDF and UDF since the former stormed to power in the state in May with 98 of the 140 seats in the Assembly.

Both the contenders had arrayed their top leaders during a month-long electioneering to recapture the seat.

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