When P.V. Anvar clashed with the Left Democratic Front and fielded N.K. Sudheer as the candidate of his newly formed Democratic Movement of Kerala (DMK) for the Chelakkara byelection, he hoped that the move would capture a significant share of the UDF and LDF votes.
However, the bypoll results on Saturday shattered Mr. Anvar’s hopes. Mr. Sudheer could not make any waves in the constituency. He secured just 3,920 votes, a far cry from what he and Mr. Anvar had hoped for. He struggled to secure even the fourth position, managing to make it to that spot only in the third round of counting. Initially, Mr. Sudheer wanted to be the UDF candidate in Chelakkara, but the Congress brought Ramya Haridas into the fray, sidelining Mr. Sudheer. Following this, he aligned with Mr. Anvar.
The spotlight shifted to Mr. Sudheer after Mr. Anvar withdrew his candidate from Palakkad. Mr. Anvar had appealed to the Congress to withdraw their candidate in Chelakkara and support his own, but this request was rejected by the Congress.
Published – November 23, 2024 06:25 pm IST