Kerala: Puthupally by-election to be held on September 5

The Election Commission said in a statement that it has decided to hold bye-election to fill vacancies in 7 Assembly Constituencies of 6 States i.e. Jharkhand, Kerala, Tripura, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. 

Thiruvananthapuram: The Election Commission on Tuesday (Aug 8) announced the by-election in Puthuppally to be held on September 5. The seat fell vacant following the demise of former chief minister Oommen Chandy on July 18. The Election Commission said in a statement that it has decided to hold a bye-election to fill vacancies in 7 Assembly Constituencies of 6 States i.e. Jharkhand, Kerala, Tripura, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. 

The counting of votes will take place on September 8, 2023. 

Due to Oommen Chandy's 53 years of representation in Puthuppally, it is quite likely that the UDF will choose a member of his family to succeed him. Within Congress, there won't be any disagreements about riding the compassion wave. Additionally, Chandy Oommen, Chandy's son, is most likely to become a candidate. Chandy Oommen was there throughout Chandy's mourning procession from Thiruvananthapuram to Puthuppally. 

The LDF currently controls six of the constituency's eight panchayats, which presents a significant challenge for the UDF. Sources claim that CPM will likely give young leader Jaick C Thomas one more chance. Jaick, who competed twice against Chandy, reduced Chandy's margin of victory from 27,092 in 2016 to 9,044 in 2021. The LDF believes that Jaick, who performed admirably against Chandy, can seize the constituency from the UDF in Chandy's absence.

There are also speculations that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will field Congress leader A K Antony's son Anil Antony who joined the saffron party earlier this year. The speculation over Anil's candidature was fuelled by a Facebook post by M Anil Kumar, a member of the CPM state committee, who raised the question of whether the children of the two leaders, that is, Chandy Ooommen and Anil Antony, will face each other in the Puthuppally by-polls.