Kerala Election Results Highlights: Congress stays strong, Suresh Gopi's victory in Thrissur marks BJP's entry into state

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Adoor Prakash of the Congress secured victory in Attingal with a margin of 684 votes against CPI(M)'s V Joy. Prakash garnered 328,051 votes, while V Joy's vote count was 327367.

With this win, Congress has now captured 14 out of the total 20 seats in Kerala.

Dr MP Abdusaamad Samadani clinched a victory in the Ponnani seat, securing IUML's second victory in the state.

Rajmohan Unnithan of the Congress party emerged victorious in the Kasargod constituency with a 1,00,649 vote lead.

This win brings the total tally of seats won by Congress to 13, with one more constituency where they are still leading. The Congress-led UDF has maintained a strong hold in Kerala, winning a total of 14 seats.

Congress has won 12 seats so far and leading in another two, according to the ECI website.

Rajmohan Unnithan and Adoor Prakash are in lead from Kasargo and Attingal respectively.

K Sudhakaran, Shafi Parambil, Rahul Gandhi, MK Raghavan, VK Sreekandan, Benny Behanan, Hibi Eden, Dean Kuriakose, KC Venugopal, Kodikunnil Suresh, Anto Antony, and Shashi Thaoor have won from their respective constituencies.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who won a fourth consecutive time from the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat, said that the poll results were a lesson for the BJP that they do better when they go on other tracks, like development, instead of communalism.

Tharoor said that the poll results were also a "serious message by the electorate to the BJP that their kind of governance needs to improve colossally".

"... I always felt that the BJP was hitting a ceiling in Kerala because of the communalism embodied in their messaging. That when they go on other tracks they do better. Whether it was the development track that Rajeev Chandrasekhar espoused here or the conscious outreach to minorities and for sure by Suresh Gopi," said Tharoor.

"When you go beyond the classic sort of north Indian BJP template, only then can you appeal to voters in Kerala. And that's been a very clear discovery or confirmation of the selection," Tharoor told PTI.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi says, "I have won from Rae Bareli and Wayanad and I thank the voters. I need to decide which seat I will retain. I haven't decided yet."

CPI(M) said it will review reasons for the electoral loss.
CPI(M) State Secretary M V Govindan notes a similar defeat in the 2019 LS polls but subsequent victories in local and assembly elections.
Govindan dismisses the idea that anti-incumbency against the second Pinarayi Vijayan government was solely responsible.
Congress-led UDF maintains a strong lead in most seats in Kerala, with comfortable margins against CPI(M)-led LDF and BJP-led NDA rivals.

BJP's Suresh Gopi wins Thrissur Lok Sabha seat with a margin of 74,686 votes. He defeated CPI's VS Sunil Kumar and Congress' K Muraleedharan.

Union Minister and BJP candidate from Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat Rajeev Chandrashekhar said, "It is disappointing given that we worked very hard….We ran a very positive campaign….3.4 lakh people supported us which is a record number."

"I believe we are on the right track….I am disappointed that I could not win…My commitment to Thiruvananthapuram and people of Thiruvananthapuram remains steadfast," he added.

The Congress-led UDF continued to maintain its lead in the majority of seats in Kerala on Tuesday, as the counting of EVM ballots entered into the final phase, with its candidates marching ahead with comfortable margins in its strongholds against their nearest rivals from the CPI(M)-led LDF and the BJP-led NDA.

Putting an end to the electoral drought for the BJP in Kerala, actor-politician Suresh Gopi, the saffron party's candidate, secured a comfortable margin of 75,079 votes in the central Kerala constituency, against his rivals of the LDF and the UDF.

BJP candidate Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Tuesday conceded defeat to Congress' Shashi Tharoor in the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat, but said that the election result in Kerala indicates that people are increasingly supporting the saffron party.

Chandrasekhar, who is the Union Minister of State for Information Technology in the outgoing cabinet, told PTI that it was "disappointing" that he lost, even though the BJP fought a very strong battle in the state.

"...It is too early to analyse that...we campaigned extremely positively. There were dynamics of certain minority communities and certain narratives that were put out there by parties.."

"Maybe we were not able to break through or express...we are very happy and excited (Suresh Gopi leading from Thrissur)...it marks a very important milestone in the growth and expansion of BJP in Kerala and South India," he added.

Congress leader & Kerala LoP VD Satheesan said, "We are grateful to the people and voters of Kerala for granting wonderful victory to the UDF in Kerala..."

"At the national level, the Congress-led INDIA alliance has returned with a powerful victory. We will be the protectors of democracy and secularism in future," he added.

As per latest trends, Congress-led UDF is leading in 17 seats.

Suresh Gopi all set to win first-ever seat for BJP - Thrissur

Shashi Tharoor leads in Thiruvananthapuram.

Shashi Tharoor, Congress' leading candidate from Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency said, "This is the blessing for the 4th time and I will do my best to be worthy of that trust to serve them well. The world T20 is going on but super over was here...BJP put up an enormous fight..."

"One important message of Suresh Gopi in Thrissur is that his systematic outreach to minority communities. It is a very strong message to BJP that communal campaign won't go very far in Kerala," he added.

As per latest trends, UDF leads in 18 out of 20 seats

NDA leads in Thrissur

LDF leads in Alathur

Suresh Gopi, BJP candidate who is leading from Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency said, "Attempts were made to divert their (voters) decisions and thoughts but God made their mind come to me…even if some of you feel that this is a miracle, this miracle was eminent."

"I fold my hands to the people of Thrissur, this happened because of them…Narendra Modi is my political God. ..I am not believing in just a manifesto…I will work for the whole Kerala…I will work as Kerala MP," he added.

As per latest trends, Congress-led UDF is leading in 17 seats

LDF is currently leading in 2 seats

NDA has a lead in Thrissur

A close neck-and-neck fight underway in Thiruvananthapuram between Congress' Tharoor and BJP's R Chandrasekhar

After trailing by over 20,000 votes behind BJP candidate Rajeev Chandrasekhar in the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat, Congress' Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday regained the lead with a margin of over 11,000 votes.

During the initial hours of counting, the fight between Chandrasekhar and Tharoor was neck-and-neck with each taking a lead of a few thousand votes.

As per latest trends, Congress-led UDF is leading in 18 seats

Shashi Tharoor is now leading in Thiruvananthapuram

Congress-led UDF leads in 17 out of 20 seats

NDA comfortably leads in Thrissur and Thiruvananthapuram

Rahul Gandhi continues to lead from Wayanad

BJP candidate Rajeev Chandrasekhar leads from Thiruvananthapuram.

BJP candidate Suresh Gopi leads from Thrissur.

BJP candidate and actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi appears poised for a win in the Thrissur Lok Sabha seat with a comfortable lead of over 58,000 votes against his nearest rival, according to the Election Commission figures on Tuesday.

Gopi, till around 12.15 pm, got 2,97,760 votes, surpassing the 2,93,822 total votes he received in the 2019 LS polls in Thrissur.

His nearest rival this time is CPI's V S Sunilkumar who got 2,39,241 votes till around 12.15 pm and Congress' K Muraleedharan was third with 2,33,517 votes.

Congress-led UDF leads in 17 out of 20 seats

NDA comfortably leads in Thrissur and Thiruvananthapuram

Rahul Gandhi continues to lead from Wayanad

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi appears to have cemented his victory in the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat by attaining a huge lead of over 2 lakh votes against his rivals, according to the figures given by the Election Commission.

By 12.13 pm, of the 3,77,905 votes counted, Gandhi received 2,25,691 while his nearest rival -- CPI's Annie Raja -- got 96,677 votes and BJP's K Surendran was at a distant third with 50,713 votes.

As per latest trends, Congress-led UDF is leading in 17 seats

NDA in 2 seats, LDF in 1 seat.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union Minister and BJP candidate from Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat leading from the seat with a margin of 22, 960 votes.

Congress candidate Shashi Tharoor trailing.

As per latest trends, Congress-led UDF is leading in 16 seats

NDA in 2 seats, LDF in 2 seats.

BJP might be able to open account in Kerala as they're leading with huge margin in two seats.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar leads from Thiruvananthapuram, Suresh Gopi from Thrissur

At 11.30am, Congress-led UDF leads in 17 out of 20 seats

Rahul Gandhi continues his lead in Wayanad

NDA leading in 2 seats. Suresh Gopi leading from Thrissur with 41500 votes

Close fight between Shashi Tharoor, Rajeev Chandrasekhar in Thiruvananthapuram

AICC general secretary K C Venugopal raised his lead to 11,833 votes in Kerala's Alappuzha constituency as the counting of votes was progressing in the segment.

CPI (M) leader and sitting MP A M Ariff is trailing at the present phase as Venugopal was seen steadily increasing lead.

AICC general secretary K C Venugopal raised his lead to 11,833 votes in Kerala's Alappuzha constituency as the counting of votes was progressing in the segment.

CPI (M) leader and sitting MP A M Ariff is trailing at the present phase as Venugopal was seen steadily increasing lead.

NDA might open the account in Kerala as BJP's Suresh Gopi has maintained a lead in Thrissur

Counting of votes is currently underway.

At 10.30am, Congress-led UDF is leading in 17 seats out of 20

NDA leading in Thrissur (Suresh Gopi) and Thiruvananthapuram (Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Rahul Gandhi continues lead in Wayanad

NDA is currently leading in two seats Thrissur and Thiruvananthapuram.

Suresh Gopi from Thrissur and R Chandrasekhar from Thiruvananthapuram are leading as of now.

Although, there is a neck-and-neck fight between Shashi Tharoor and Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

At 10am, 2 hours into counting of votes, Congress-led UDF lead in 15 seats

CPI(M)-led LDF lead in 4 seats

NDA is leading in Thrissur seat.

The Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat is witnessing a neck-and-neck fight between Congress' Shashi Tharoor and Union Minister of State for Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar as votes for the constituency are counted

Both the candidates kept switching the lead between them with small margins during the initial hours of counting.

According to latest figures given by the Election Commission, Tharoor was leading by over 2,000 votes.

BJP's Suresh Gopi continues lead in Thrissur

He is against Congress's K Muraleedharan and CPI's VS Suni Kumar

Congress-UDF leading in 14 seats

LDF leads in 5 seats

NDA in 1, Suresh Gopi leads in Thrissur

Congress candidate from Kerala's Wayanad Lok Sabha seat Rahul Gandhi leading from the seat with a margin of 8718 votes.

Congress-led UDF is currently leading in 12 seats.

Congress candidate from Kerala's Wayanad Lok Sabha seat Rahul Gandhi leading from the seat with a margin of 8718 votes.

Congress-led UDF is currently leading in 12 seats.

As per latest data, UDF is leading in 12 seats

NDA in 1 seat

Congress-led UDF leading in 12 seats

CPI(M)-led LDF leading in 8 seats

NDA leading in 1 seat.

On the vote counting for Lok Sabha Elections 2024, Congress MP & candidate from Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram, Shashi Tharoor said, "...We will see how it goes by the end of the day, we can talk about it then."

Counting of votes currently underway.

As per early leads, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor is leading in Thiruvananthapuram.

He is contesting against BJP's Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

Early trends show CPI(M)-led LDF leading in 10 seats

Congress-led UDF lead in 8 seats

NDA is currently leading in 1 seat

Congress MP & candidate from Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram, Shashi Tharoor said, "...Expectations were set on 26th April because once people have cast their votes and the boxes are sealed in the strong room then there is no further room for any argument or debate..."

"There was no cross-voting in the previous elections. We have neither benefitted from cross-voting in the past nor do we expect to see any cross-voting this time...We will win on our merit or we will fail but my view is that we are winning," he added.

As per 8.30 am, early trends show Rahul Gandhi leading in Wayanad.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar lead in Thiruvanthapuram.

Congress-led UDF leads in 6 seats, LDF leads in 1.

NDA yet to open account.

First leads are in and Congress-led UDF is leading in 2 seats.

Counting of votes is currently underway.

Counting for 20 Lok Sabha seats begin in Kerala.

First leads to come in shortly.

In Thiruvananthapuram, where former UN diplomat and Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has been fielded against Union Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar and Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Panniyan Ravindran, the voter turnout stood at 64.55 per cent.

The turnout was 73.66 per cent in 2019.

Wayanad saw a voter turnout of 72.70 percent in 2024 while in 2019 the turnout was 80.33 per cent.

The Lok Sabha constituency in Kerala witnessed a tough battle between INDIA bloc allies.

Despite being a part of the INDIA bloc, the Congress and the Communist Party of India (CPI) participated separately in the elections.

The ruling Left in Kerala on Sunday termed as "suspicious" and "politically motivated" the exit poll predictions which said that the BJP-led NDA will open its account and end its electoral drought in a state dominated by the Congress-led UDF and the CPI(M)-led LDF.

LDF convener and veteran CPI(M) leader E P Jayarajan said the exit poll predictions were not arrived at through some scientific findings or experiments, "it was not based on public sentiments" and was not an observation following a proper analysis of the elections.

The ruling Left in Kerala and the Congress on Sunday rejected as "baseless" the exit poll predictions which said that the BJP-led NDA will come to power at the Centre and also open its account in the state where it has not had an MP in the past.

Both the LDF and the Congress were of the view that they would get seats in excess of what the exit polls predicted.

The LDF and the Congress, both of whom are confident of a good show in the Lok Sabha polls in the state, were in agreement that the BJP will not open its account in Kerala.

The EC made it clear that only counting supervisors, counting assistants, micro-observers, Election Commission representatives, observers, government officials on election duty, candidates, and their election agents are allowed into the counting hall.

Each assembly constituency will have a separate hall for counting votes, with a maximum of 14 tables in each hall.

The election results will be available in real-time on the Election Commission's website and the Voter Helpline app.

The election results will be accessible live through the website https://results.eci.gov.in, using the Election Commission's ENCORE software.

Preparations for counting of votes polled in the April 26 Lok Sabha elections in Kerala are complete, and the process will take place in 20 centres across the state.

A total of 194 candidates are vying for the 20 seats in the state, making the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls a crucial battleground for the CPI(M)-led ruling LDF, the Congress-headed UDF and the BJP-led NDA.

The state witnessed a notable decrease in voter turnout this time, with the figure standing at 70.22 percent.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the state saw a voter turnout of 77.84 percent.

Voting was held across all the 20 parliamentary seats of Kerala in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections on Friday, April 26.

Voter turnout stood at 70.22 percent.

Kasaragod, Kannur, Wayanad, Pallakad, Thiruvanthapuram, Thrissur are some key constituencies.

Counting of votes will begin at 8AM.

Prominent candidates include Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who is contesting against BJP's Rajeev Chandrasekhar from Thiruvananthapuram.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, is seeking a second term from Wayanad.

BJP is set to make significant headway into the southern states in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and emerge as the single-largest party in south India, according to News18's mega exit poll.

BJP is looking to expand its footprint in south India, the only region where it has not quite dominated the electoral landscape since forming the government at the Centre in 2014.

After exit polls predicted a third straight win for the Bharatiya Janata Party including a huge gain in the south, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor termed the predictions "deeply unscientific" and said they are instead interested in the votes of people.

The Congress leader added that BJP won't be making gains in Kerala and Tamil Nadu and will lose "significantly" in Karnataka.

LDF's vote share decreased from 40% in 2014 to 36% in 2019.

NDA witnessed a slight jump in its vote share from 11% in 2014 to 16% in 2019.

There is a direct contest between the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) in the state.

In the 2019 polls, the INC secured a majority of seats in the state, while the NDA failed to win a single one.

With 20 Lok Sabha constituencies in contention, the state saw polling on April 26, achieving a voter turnout of 70.35%, down from 77.84% in 2019.

Counting of votes will start at 8am today.