Amidst the electoral fray in Thiruvananthapuram, the Congress stalwart Shashi Tharoor stands at the forefront, despite an initial challenge posed by the BJP contender, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
Across all 20 constituencies in Kerala, the tallying of votes is in progress. As per the latest indications from the Election Commission at 2:22 pm, Tharoor commands a lead of 7,030 votes. His ballot count stands at 327335, surpassing Chandrasekhar’s 320305. Initially, Chandrasekhar held a lead of over 13,000 votes, yet Tharoor orchestrated a resurgence, surging ahead of his BJP adversary.
A spectrum of 194 contenders contends for the 20 electoral seats in the state. The Congress-led UDF aspires to replicate its 2019 LS polls performance, while the CPI(M)-led ruling LDF aims for a superior showing compared to the previous general elections. Concurrently, the BJP-led NDA endeavors to secure its inaugural victory in Kerala.
In the electoral theater of Thiruvananthapuram, a tripartite clash unfolds. The incumbent three-time MP Shashi Tharoor contends with Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar and former MP, senior CPI leader Panniyan Raveendran.
The Thiruvananthapuram parliamentary constituency spans coastal, hilly, rural, and urban precincts. Among the voter populace, urban residents comprise three-quarters. Voter behavior manifests variance corresponding to their environs. Notably, approximately 20 percent identify as Christian voters, with an additional 14 percent professing the Muslim faith. Noteworthy Christian factions such as the Latin Catholic, Syro Malabar Catholic, CSI, Syro Malankara Catholics, and Nadars wield substantial influence across party lines.
In this electoral cycle, Thiruvananthapuram witnesses a marked decline in voter turnout, registering at 66.47%. Contrasting this with the 2019 and 2014 general elections, where the turnout stood at 73.45% and 68.63%, respectively, underscores the shift.
Shashi Tharoor clinched his inaugural victory in Thiruvananthapuram in 2009, securing a commanding margin of 99,998 votes. Serving as the Minister of State for Human Resource Development and External Affairs in Congress-led UPA-1 and UPA-2 governments, Tharoor’s electoral triumphs continued unabated. In the 2019 polls, he secured a triumphant hat-trick, eclipsing his nearest rival by a resounding margin of 99,989 votes.
In his quest for a fourth consecutive term, Tharoor castigates the Left for fragmenting anti-BJP votes in Thiruvananthapuram. He contends that the Left’s fixation on undermining him rather than confronting BJP’s governance lapses betrays their priorities.
Of the seven assembly constituencies, barring Kovalam, six align with the LDF. Post-election introspection within the BJP anticipates a triumph for their candidate, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, securing an estimated 400,000 votes.
The 2024 electoral contest saw a total of 1,430,531 registered voters in this constituency, with a voter turnout of 66.47% (totaling 950,829 votes), according to Election Commission data. The electoral fray unfolded during phase 2 on April 26, 2024.
In the 2019 LS Polls, Shashi Tharoor retained his seat with 416,131 votes, constituting 41.19% of the total ballots cast. He bested BJP’s Kummanam Rajasekharan by a margin of 99,989 votes. Tharoor’s victory in 2014 was similarly emphatic, polling 297,806 votes (34.10%) and prevailing over BJP’s O Rajagopal by 15,470 votes.