Kerala was expected to be a fight between the ruling Left Democratic Front and the United Democratic Front. But the Congress led-UDF has surged ahead on 18 of the 20 Lok Sabha seats in the state. Congress chief Rahul Gandhi is leading in the Wayanad constituency by more than 4 lakh votes.
The seats which are in the national spotlight are Wayanad, Pathanamthitta and Thiruvananthapuram. In the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi is contesting against Thushar Vellappally of Bharat Dharma Jana Sena and CPI’s PP Suneer. Pathanamthitta was the epicentre of the Sabarimala protests last year and the saffron party would be hoping that the religious fervour works in their favour.
Also read: Lok Sabha election results Live updates
Tamil Nadu is witnessing a two-way contest between the NDA and the UPA. While the BJP has formed an alliance with the ruling AIADMK, the Congress are fighting elections in the state along with DMK. The DMK alliance is currently leading on 35 of the 39 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
DMK leader Kanimozhi and Congress candidate Karti P Chidambaram are among the key candidates leading in the assembly elections in Tamil Nadu.
Kanimozhi was leading state BJP chief Tamilisai Soundararajan by over 32,000 votes in Tuticorin. Congress candidate from Sivaganga Karti P Chidambaram was leading BJP’s H Raja by 13,000 votes.
In the 2014 general elections, AIADMK had swept 37 of the 39 seats in Tamil Nadu. BJP had won the lone seat of Kanyakumari. Karunanidhi-led DMK could not win a single seat despite getting over 23% of the vote share.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi has accepted the party's defeat in the Lok Sabha elections. Addressing the media in Delhi, Rahul also congratulated BJP and Narendra Modi for the big win in the elections. "I had said that during the campaign 'janta maalik hai' and today people have clearly given their decision. I congratulate the PM and BJP," he said.
Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor is set to serve a 2nd term after winning in the Lok Sabha elections with a margin of over 60,000 votes.
"The state has become an exemplar for what the politics of the Congress nationally could be. I just hope we will be able to build from the very disappointing result nationally," Tharoor told news agency ANI.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi is leading with over 8,00,000 votes from Kerala's Wayanad.
Shashi Tharoor had made a spectacular debut in Lok Sabha poll winning Thiruvanathapuram seat by over 99 thousand votes in 2009. Tharoor currenty leads BJP’s Kummanam Rajashekaran and CPI’s C Divakaran. Tharoor has got 287,872 votes so far.
The Opposition Congress led-UDF in Kerala appears to be heading for a landslide in the state by continuing its lead in 19 of the total 20 Lok Sabha seats with AICC President Rahul Gandhi so far garnering over two lakh votes from Wayanad.
Gandhi, who contested from Wayanad, besides his traditional stronghold of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, garnered 9,32,063 votes till 2.50 PM, as per the Election Commission website.
Trends in Kerala at 2pm
Total seats: 20
UDF: 15
IUML: 2
KC (M): 1
RSP: 1
LDF CPI (M): 1
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami Thursday greeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the BJP's "magnificent victory" in the Lok Sabha elections.
The AIADMK Joint Coordinator's congratulatory message to Modi came amidst the counting trends pointing to the BJP-led NDA retaining power at the Centre comfortably.
The BJP was on its way to a landslide victory on Thursday with leads in 292 seats, showing major gains in Odisha and West Bengal but a nought in Kerala, prompting leaders to say they will redouble efforts to make inroads in the southern state the next time.
The BJP will do well in Kerala in the next elections in the same way it has done in West Bengal and Odisha this time, BJP national spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao told the media.
DNV Senthilkumar S of the DMK has taken the lead in Dharmapuri by a margin of 268 votes against Anbumani Ramadoss of PMK. In Chidambaram constituency, VCK Chief Thol Thirumavalavan and AIADMK's Chandrasekar are locked in a battle. Chandrasekar is leading with a margin of just 2091 votes.
In 3 constituencies, Kamal Haasan's MNM has received less votes than NOTA in the Tamil Nadu bypolls. The three constituencies are - Pappireddipatti, Thiruvarur and Vilathikulam. MNM isn't performing well in the Lok Sabha elections either.
Congress chief Rahul Gandhi is leading by over 2.5 lakh votes in the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency.
Congress candidate Karti Chidambaram is up by nearly 10,000 cotes in the Sivaganga Lok Sabha constituency in Tamil Nadu. He is up against BJP's H Raja.
In Kerala, the ruling LDF is trailing on 18 of the 20 seats. The only 2 seats where they were able to maintain their stronghold were Alapuzha and Kasargod.
In the Alapuzha constituency, sitting MLA A M Arif is contesting on a CPI(M) ticket. Arif has got a narrow lead of 1,635 against UDF candidate Shanimol Usman.
The Left has also been able to lead in Kasargod constituency, where its candidate K P Satheesh Chandran is ahead of Congress candidate Raj Mohan Unnithan by 3,852 votes.
The Congress, which is contesting the Lok Sabha elections in Puducherry as part of the DMK alliance, is leading in the lone seat. The Congress is doing well in Tamil Nadu as well, where it is leading in eight seats.
In Tamil Nadu, the DMK-Congress alliance is leading on 35 of the 39 seats in the state.
Total Seats: 20
Here is the party-wise breakup at 11 am
UDF: 18
LDF: 2
Others: 0
With the UDF leading in all 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala, the Congress' Kerala unit posted a picture on Twitter with the caption 'UDF wave in Kerala'
With the UDF leading in all 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala, the Congress' Kerala unit posted a picture on Twitter with the caption 'UDF wave in Kerala'
The DMK-Congress alliance has consolidated their lead in Tamil Nadu. DMK is currently leading on 22 seats, while the Congress is ahead on 8.
Here is party-wise breakup at 10.30am:
Total seats: 38
DMK: 22
Congress: 8
AIADMK: 1
CPI: 2
CPI(M): 2
IUML: 1
PMK: 1
VCK: 1
While few can raise questions over Shashi Tharoor’s knowledge of the English language, the Congress leader’s political skills have been put to some stiff test in his quest for winning Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat for the third consecutive time. Read full story here
Here is the party position in Kerala at 10am. The Congress-led UDF looks set to sweep the state.
Total seats: 20
UDF: 19
LDF: 1
BJP: 0
Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor, who is currently leading by nearly 20,000 votes, tweeted that it is welcome news that he took the lead from the start.
Congress candidate Karti Chidambaram is up by nearly 10,000 cotes in the Sivaganga Lok Sabha constituency in Tamil Nad. He is up against BJP's H Raja.
Congress's Shashi Tharoor is leading by over 13,000 votes in Thiruvananthapuram. In Ernakulam constituency, Hibi Eden of the Congress is leading by 17,748 votes against P Rajeev of the CPI(m).
Opposition Congress led UDF is ahead in all the 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala, as per the initial trends released by the Election Commission.
As per EC data, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi has won 61,311 votes in Wayanad so far, while his closest competitor CPI's PP Suneer currently has 20,950.
Congress is leading from Puducherry Lok Sabha seat, while its alliance partner DMK is leading from Dindigul and Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu.
Union Minister and BJP candidate Pon Radhakrishnan was trailing in Kanyakumari, according to trends available from the Election Commission.
Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam, TTV Dinakaran’s Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam haven’t opened their account still. These parties were seen as an alternative to the Dravidian parties.
The DMK-Congress alliance is ahead on 23 seats, according to early trends. The AIADMK is leading on two. On the bypoll front, the DMK is up in four while the AIADMK leads in three.
In a tight 3-way contest in Pathanamthitta, BJP candidate is currently leading by over 1000 votes. He is up against Congress' Anto Antony and CPM's Veena George.
Rahul Gandhi is leading by over 10,000 votes in Wayanad, according to TV news reports.
Congress leader and sitting MP Shashi Tharoor is ahead in Thiruvananthapuram. The Lok Sabha constituency is witnessing a three-way battle between Tharoor, BJP's Kummanam Rajasekharan and former Kerala minister C Divakaran of the Communist Party of India (CPI).
Khushboo Sundar, actress and spokesperson of the Congress, tweeted last night that she would be MIA on election results day as she has been hospitalised.
In a tight contest on the Kottayam Lok Sabha constituency, LDF candidate V Vasavan currently leading against Thomas Chazhikadan by 400 votes.
As per the early trends of the Lok Sabha election results, the Congress-led United Democratic Front is ahead on 12 seats in Kerala. As per the exit polls, UDF is predicted to win 15-16 of 20 Lok Sabha seats.
Congress candidate Anto Anthony is currently leading in Pathanamthitta. Pathanamthitta was the epicentre of the Sabarimala protests last year and the saffron party would be hoping that the religious fervour works in their favour.
Counting of votes is underway in 45 centres across the state, with over 17,000 polling staff and 45,000 police personnel on duty.
A total of 88 counting observers are tasked to oversee the counting process.
Rahul Gandhi is leading in the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, as per the early trends on News18.
Counting of votes for all 38 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu and 20 constituencies in Kerala is underway. Tamil Nadu will witness a two-way contest between the NDA and the UPA.