Puthuppally, Kottayam District, Kerala: The Puthuppally assembly constituency in Kottayam district witnessed a surge of enthusiasm as voting for the highly anticipated by-election kicked off promptly at 7 am this Tuesday. Men, women, and enthusiastic youngsters formed long queues outside the polling booths, eager to exercise their democratic rights.
Chandy Oommen, the Congress candidate running for the Puthupally Assembly constituency, exercised his right to vote on Tuesday morning. The bye-elections for seven assembly constituencies across six states, namely Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Tripura, West Bengal, and Jharkhand, commenced at 7 am on Tuesday.
The by-election has garnered significant attention as it pits the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M) against the opposition Indian National Congress in a fierce battle for the assembly seat. This constituency became vacant following the unfortunate demise of the seasoned Congress leader and former Kerala Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy, earlier this year.
Oommen Chandy had been a formidable force in this region, representing the constituency for over five decades without interruption until his passing on July 18, 2023.
In a strategic move to capitalize on the sympathy wave generated by the former Chief Minister's demise, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) has fielded Oommen Chandy's son, Chandy Oommen, as their candidate.
On the other hand, the ruling Left Front has once again chosen DYFI leader Jaick C Thomas to contest the seat, despite his previous unsuccessful attempts in 2016 and 2021 against the late Oommen Chandy.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has also thrown its hat in the ring, fielding G Lijinlal, the president of the Kottayam district unit.
In the current composition of the 2021 Kerala Assembly, consisting of a total of 140 seats, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) holds 99 seats, while the United Democratic Front (UDF) holds 40 seats, with the Puthuppally assembly seat remaining vacant.
The Puthuppally constituency boasts 1,76,417 eligible voters, including 90,281 women, 86,132 men, and four individuals identifying as transgender. To facilitate the voting process, a total of 182 polling booths have been established across the constituency, ensuring accessibility and convenience for the electorate.
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