Kottayam (Kerala) | Union Minister George Kurian on Monday finished third in Kanjirappally constituency here in the recently concluded Kerala Assembly elections.

Kurian, Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying and Minority Affairs, was fielded by the BJP considering the sizeable Christian population in the constituency.

When votes up to the 15th of the 16 counting rounds were tallied, Kurian was in third place, trailing Congress candidate Rony K Baby by 29,585 votes.

Baby secured 56,646 votes, followed by sitting MLA N Jayaraj of Kerala Congress with 50,874 votes. Kurian received 26,984 votes, according to the Election Commission.

Despite the union minister's defeat, the BJP had reason to cheer as the saffron party won the Nemom and Chathannoor Assembly constituencies.