With a whopping 1.76 lakh registered voters, Puthuppally saw the opening of 182 polling places.
The Puthuppally by-election, which was held in Kerala's Kottayam district earlier this week, was won by Chandy Oommen, a leader in the Youth Congress and an enthusiastic participant in Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra last year, by 78098 votes.

Puthuppally's by-election saw a 72.91% turnout (File Photo).
Puthuppally's by-election saw a 72.91% turnout (File Photo).

At the Baselius College's special station, the ballots for postal and service voting were first counted.

The death of seasoned Congressman Oommen Chandy, who twice held the position of Chief Minister and had held it continuously since 1970, forced a byelection. The Congress candidate was replaced by Chandy's son Chandy Oommen.

With a whopping 1.76 lakh registered voters, Puthuppally saw the opening of 182 polling places. Four polling places were designated as "sensitive" during the election, which necessitated the implementation of enhanced security measures.

The United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) engaged in a ferocious battle in front of the electorate. Given the conflict's huge stakes for both the ruling and opposition fronts in the state, there have been tense exchanges in recent weeks.

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Jaick C. Thomas, a leader of the Communist Party of India's youth wing who had previously run against Chandy unsuccessfully in 2016 and 2021, was put forward by the CPI(M). Despite receiving less than 10% of the vote in 2021, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a small participant in the constituency, nominated Ligin Lal as its candidate.

Given the LDF's overwhelming 99-seat majority in the 140-member Assembly, the Puthuppally result won't change the state administration, but it still represents a significant political development that the country is watching.