THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: CPM state secretary M V Govindan said that there was a great deal of wave of sympathy in Puthuppally as the by-election took place amidst the post-death ceremonies of Oommen Chandy. Speaking to the media, he said that the by-election result cannot be seen as a warning against the government.

“There was a great deal of wave of sympathy that helped the UDF to win the election. In the 2011 Assembly elections, the LDF got 36,667 votes. Last time, Jaick C Thomas got 44.505 votes in the constituency. This time, he managed to get more than 42,000 votes. This means that there has been no significant change in the base of the Left Democratic Front in Puthuppally,” Govindan said.

“Even the post-death ceremonies took place amidst the competition. There was a wave of sympathy during the by-election. The result in Puthuppally cannot be seen as a warning against the government. The Puthuppally by-election cannot be considered as an assessment of the state government. The wave of sympathy over the demise of a person like Oommen Chandy prevailed over everything. Even Chandy Oommen said that he considers his victory as the 13th victory of his father. CPM and LDF will work with caution in the upcoming Lok Sabha election,” Govindan added.