Date:12/05/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/05/12/stories/2006051214810400.htm

Kerala - Others

Idukki: UDF stronghold falls

Staff Reporter

IDUKKI: With four of the five Assembly segments falling into LDF hands, it is a near total capitulation for the UDF in this high range district, once held as an impregnable UDF fortress.

Kerala Congress (J) chairman P.J. Joseph took back his home turf Thodupuzha from Congress leader and sitting MLA P.T. Thomas by a convincing margin of 13,689 votes. The continuing crisis in the plantation sector appears to have taken its toll on the Congress at Peerumade where the party's sitting MLA E.M. Augusthy was defeated by E.M. Bijimol of the CPI by a margin of 16,340 votes. The party suffered yet another setback in the plantation sector when its veteran A.K. Moni was felled by S. Rajendran (CPI-M) in Devikulam. Mr. Rajendran won by a margin of 5,887 votes.

K.K. Jayachandran of the CPI(M) improved his tally to 19,648 votes (from 8,841 in 2001) while retaining the Udumbanchola constituency. He defeated Ebrahimkutty Kallar of the DIC(K). The lone UDF representative from the district is Roshy Augustine of the KC(M) who was elected for the second time from Idukki Assembly segment. He defeated C.V. Varghese of the CPI(M) with a margin of 16,340 votes. With the Assembly elections over, the LDF has registered a near total control in Idukki district.