The Peravoor Assembly constituency in Kerala’s Kannur, which witnessed a face-off between two prominent leaders, has chosen its pick. KPCC President and Peravoor sitting MLA Sunny Joseph won against LDF’s KK Shailaja, marking a fourth consecutive victory for him from the constituency.
Sunny Joseph, who trailed in the initial rounds of counting, gradually gained momentum, winning with a margin of 14,453 votes. Apart from being a senior leader of the Congress, he is a household name in Peravoor and has also led the party in several capacities in the district.
Sunny first became Peravoor MLA in 2011 and has retained the constituency ever since. While Shailaja won in Peravoor in the 2006 Assembly polls, she lost to Sunny Joseph in 2011. This time, the LDF brought her back to Peravoor from the Mattanur Assembly constituency, where she had a massive victory in the last elections.
CPM General Secretary MA Baby said before the results that Shailaja was placed in Peravoor to cultivate votes, while Mattanur – which he called a sure shot LDF seat – was given to VK Sanoj.
While Sunny polled 76,140 votes, Shailaja won 61,687 votes, while BDJS candidate Paily Vathiyattu polled 8,020 votes.
This election saw a UDF trend in Kerala, with the VD Satheesan-led front gaining over 100 seats. The incumbent LDF, on the other hand, shrank to under 35 seats, with several ministers like Veena George, V Sivankutty, R Bindu, and P Rajeeve, among others, losing their seats.
The NDA opened its account in Kerala, with the BJP state head Rajeev Chandrasekhar winning Nemom, BB Gopakumar winning Chathannoor, and V Muraleedharan winning Kazhakoottam.