The political picture of Kerala has changed this time after the local body elections. The landslide victory of the BJP-led NDA in the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation came as a shock to the opposition Congress-UDF alliance. The pain of this defeat made one candidate very sad and he ended his life.
Vijayakumaran Nair, Congress-UDF candidate from Manambur Ward of Aruvikkara Gram Panchayat, tried to commit suicide by hanging himself immediately after the election results came out on Saturday. His family saw him hanging and immediately rushed him to a private hospital, but he died on Tuesday morning.
According to the police, the result of Vijayakumaran Nair coming in third place was heavy. He got only 149 votes, while the BJP candidate won the ward. After this incident, the police has started a thorough investigation of the case.
Election Results Snapshot:
Out of total 101 wards in Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation, NDA won 50 seats, while LDF won 29 seats and UDF 19 seats. Two seats went to independent candidates. This victory is historic for the NDA, as for the first time they got control of the municipal corporation and broke the hold of the Left government which had been ruling for four decades.
The performance of the UDF at the state level was overall better. UDF won 505 out of 941 gram panchayats, 79 out of 152 block panchayats, 7 out of 14 district panchayats and 54 out of 87 municipalities and 4 out of 6 municipal corporations. LDF came second and NDA third. Aam Aadmi Party also tried its best in this election and won in three wards, in which all the winners were women candidates. The incident of defeat and suicide in Kerala has created a stir at both political and social levels. There has been a lot of discussion in the state about the feeling of winning and losing and its mental impact.