“We won, father,” Chandy Oommen wrote in an emotional Facebook post after his victory in Kerala’s Puthuppally Assembly constituency, sharing a photo of himself standing beside former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy’s grave.
The Congress leader secured a commanding win in Puthuppally on Monday, May 4, polling 84,031 votes in total and defeating CPM’s KM Radhakrishnan by a massive margin of 53,907 votes.
The 40-year-old leader’s campaign had stood out, as he travelled across the constituency on a bicycle to meet voters in person while completely avoiding flex boards and posters to cut costs. He had also notably announced that the campaign funds would instead be used to build houses for the homeless in the constituency.
Puthuppally’s verdict also reflects the enduring political legacy of his father, Oommen Chandy, who represented the constituency continuously for 53 years from 1970 to 2023, an unparalleled record in Kerala’s political history. In the 2023 bye-election, Chandy Oommen had secured a decisive victory with a margin exceeding 37,000 votes.
Besides Chandy and Radhakrishnan, four other candidates contested from Puthuppally, including Raveendranath Vakathanam (BJP), Sabu Mylakkadan (JRP), Paul P Chacko (BSP), and Rijomon Mathew (IND).
Across Kerala, early trends indicated a strong showing for the Congress-led UDF, which was leading in a large number of constituencies and appeared set for a significant comeback. Against this backdrop, Chandy Oommen’s sweeping margin in Puthuppally stands out as one of the most decisive victories in the state so far.
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