After two hours of vote counting in Kerala, preliminary indications suggest that the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) is poised for a significant victory in the state, leading in 18 out of 20 seats. Of particular interest is the outcome in Thrissur, where BJP candidate Suresh Gopi, a well-known actor-turned-politician, has attracted attention by maintaining a lead over his Congress and LDF counterparts, V S Sunil Kumar and K Muraleedharan, respectively. Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi continues to hold a lead in Wayanad, with CPI(M)’s Annie Raja trailing behind by 21,000 votes.
Vote counting commenced in all 20 Lok Sabha constituencies in Kerala at 8 am on Tuesday. Strong rooms were opened at 7 am in the presence of the Returning Officer, Assistant Returning Officer, candidates or their election agents, and Election Commission observers. The state witnessed a fierce electoral contest among the Congress-led UDF, the state-ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF), and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Kerala Lok Sabha election 2024, conducted on April 26 in a single phase, recorded a voter turnout of 67.15%.
Key contests in the Kerala Lok Sabha elections include Rahul Gandhi (Congress) versus Annie Raja (CPI(M)) and K Surendran (BJP) in Wayanad, Shashi Tharoor (Congress) versus Rajeev Chandrasekhar (Union Minister) in Thiruvanathapuram, and former Kerala Minister K K Shailaja (LDF) against Shafi Parambil (UDF) in Vadakara. Notably, in Pathanamthitta, Anil Antony (formerly of Congress, now with LDF) faces Thomas Issac (LDF) and Anto Antony (UDF), while Suresh Gopi (BJP) contests from Thrissur.