Kerala - Kochi

T.M. Jacob loses Piravom

Special Correspondent

All three DIC(K) candidates in Ernakulam defeated

KOCHI: In one of the biggest upset defeats in these elections, T.M. Jacob of the Democratic Indira Congress-Karunakaran (DIC-K), who was formerly the topmost leader of the Kerala Congress (Jacob), had to concede his Piravom seat to M.J. Jacob of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M).

All the three DIC(K) candidates, Mr. T.M. Jacob himself; Johney Nelloor in Muvattupuzha; and M.A. Chandrasekharan in Vadakkekara, fielded in Ernakulam district, considered the party's strong base, got defeated.

Mr. M.J. Jacob polled 52,903 votes, defeating his rival by 5,150 votes. Mr. T.M. Jacob, who won the Piravom seat in the 2001 elections, was a Minister in the United Democratic Front (UDF) Government headed by A.K. Antony. But he lost his job when Oommen Chandy took over the reins of the Government. In protest, he left the UDF, and a few months before the election, joined K. Karunakaran's DIC(K). However, unlike other DIC(K) MLAs, he had not resigned from the Assembly. Mr. Jacob had been instrumental in getting Mr. Karunakaran's party its current name.

The DIC(K) had its largest number of candidates in Ernakulam district. Two of them belonged to the former KC(Jacob), Mr. T.M. Jacob and Mr. Nelloor. Apparently, the disbanding of his party and aligning with Mr. Karunakaran have proved costly to Mr. T.M. Jacob.

He won the Piravom seat in 1996 by a 7,700-vote margin (over C.P. Paulose). In 2001, when he fought against the CPI(M)'s Gopi Kottamurikkal, the margin rose to 12,700. His political detractors had alleged that he had flooded Piravom with Government programmes and projects, particularly those associated with the departments whose Minister he was.

Mr. Nelloor was defeated by Babu Paul of the Left Democratic Front by 13,225 votes.

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