Thrissur (Kerala) | The ruling LDF in Kerala on Saturday retained the Chelakkara Assembly segment by defeating the Congress-led UDF in the crucial bypoll, providing significant relief to the Pinarayi Vijayan government amidst allegations of anti-incumbency.

CPI(M) nominee U R Pradeep won the seat, defeating Congress candidate Ramya Haridas by an impressive margin of 12,201 votes.

Pradeep, who maintained a steady lead from the start of the counting, secured 64,827 votes, while Haridas managed 52,626 votes, according to Election Commission figures.

The BJP-NDA nominee, K Balakrishnan, finished third with 33,609 votes, the figures revealed.

Although six candidates contested in Chelakkara, the primary battle was between Pradeep, a former CPI(M) MLA, and Haridas, an ex-MP from the Congress party.

The bypoll was necessitated in the Chelakkara segment, a longstanding Left bastion, after the former MLA and former Minister K Radhakrishnan was elected to the Lok Sabha earlier this year.

With this decisive victory, the LDF hopes to counter the anti-incumbency campaign launched by opposition parties against the Pinarayi Vijayan government.

There were no twists or surprises in Chelakkara throughout the counting process, as Pradeep maintained a consistent lead from the beginning.

From the counting of postal votes at the outset to the final round, the CPI(M) leader left no opportunity for his fellow contestants to harbour any hopes or expectations of winning.

Although the Left camp maintained silence during the initial hours, celebrations erupted as their candidate achieved a comfortable majority, with supporters distributing sweets.

Later addressing reporters, Pradeep said Chelakkara has always supported the LDF, and the people of the constituency did not succumb to the false promises of political rivals.

He also stated that the LDF's victory in Chelakkara is proof that there is no anti-incumbency wave in the state.

The Congress leadership here noted that the party's work mechanism had been effective, and the strong performance of their candidate helped reduce the LDF candidate's majority in the Left stronghold.

Meanwhile, it is interesting to note that the BJP significantly improved its performance, adding 10,000 more votes to its tally in the Left-dominated segment compared to the previous assembly elections.

N K Sudheer, the nominee of the Democratic Movement of Kerala (DMK), a political outfit recently formed by Nilambur MLA P V Anvar after leaving the LDF, secured only 3,920 votes in the constituency.

According to Election Commission figures, a total of 1,034 votes were cast for NOTA.

The bypoll for the Chelakkara Assembly seat was held on November 13.