Watch: Kerala Election Counting Begins As Congress And Left Battle For Power In High Stakes Clash

Added: 2026-05-06

[00:00:00]Let me go to my colleague uh Shibi. She joins me from Tiruant Tiruanapuram presumably. Shibi uh you and I had a great time traveling across your wonderful state, the coastal state of this country. Uh I saw Shashi Taru last night talking about uh how the Congress was going to create history. Where are you at the moment and I see lots of people already out and about in Kerala?

[00:00:29]Uh well uh Rajiv I'm outside Maruan's college where the counting to all the 14 constituencies in Tantaram district will take place and the rush that you're seeing outside is of the party workers of all the three parties because this is one district where all the three parties have really I hope so you can see party workers outside the maranu college waiting for that first trend uh the counting agents everybody uh there's a saying that whoever wins Thirwantapuru manages to get maximum seats in Thirwanapuram can come to power in Kerala So uh there are lots of hopes and expectations among all these people that's stationed outside Maruavanu's college here in Tirvanapuram. Uh the congress camp like you pointed over Shashit Tarun and all the prominent leaders of the party are in Thirvanapuram itself. They're really hopeful. The Cape Dindra and KPCC headquarters in Tirwanapuram is all set with you know uh with preparations a feast a meal is already prepared there for the afternoon to celebrate the victory with the party workers. The Congress camp is really really confident. Uh but the left also says that they're uh you know they're saying that the exit polls will not turn out to be true and they will manage to win at least 75 seats and come back to power.

[00:01:36]They're not saying something close to 90 but maybe 75 seats and we'll come back to power. Let's wait for it because exit poll averages came up to 62 seats for left. So that's nothing to worry is what the left says but Congress is definitely more more confident than uh the left right now in Kerala.

[00:01:56]Okay. Uh Shibi, we'll come to you for plenty more. Kerala also a fast counting state. Interesting of course that Thiruanapuram is the constituency of Shashi Tarur. It's also the constituency where BJP has much at stake. Nim for example one of the assembly constituencies where Rajiv Chandra Shakha is contesting and that's the only constituency the BJP has won in the past in Kerala in a assembly election that was Mr. Raj Gopal in 2016. So lots of interest in the state of Keralam. Shashi Dharu may not be necessary in the chief ministerial battle but he is a face of Thiruanapuram. He spoke a little while ago. Listen in.

[00:02:35]>> The answer is very clear. We have a standard practice in the Congress party after the election results. The victorious MLAs will be met by an envoy or representative of the uh president of the party. That person will get the sense of what the MLAs want. He or she will go back to Delhi, speak to the high command and the high command taking that into account will make a final decision.

[00:02:59]Thereafter they are not bound by any rules or limits. They can choose anything that they want. It's up to them to decide.

[00:03:06]>> Okay. Let me tell you axita uh is someone who has a foot in every southern state including in Keralam where your mother is from Kerala and uh what I found it is hugely politically contested margins of 1 and 2% can make all the difference. The congress barring 2001 has never had a big victory there. The left has consistently got this 38 40% of course going up when they won the last two elections but give us a sense is is is politics in the blood of of much like Bengal it is deeply discussed on the streets and the adas of Kerala as well >> everywhere you go Raj everywhere you go whether it's a chai kada whether it's anywhere you go for breakfast lunch you stand at a bus stand you'll hear only conversations UDF.

[00:03:56]So there'll be you know conversations nonstop about politics. Politics is in the blood and I'd say this for south Indians honestly that politics is in our blood that the constant way that everyone bonds together it's over politics. You will find differences over it. They may be of different ideologies different leanings but everyone comes together for a conversation over politics and that's very true of Keralum North Keralum in particular where it also unfortunately turns into a bit of violence. But I've grown up in a household because I had all my summer vacations were in Palakad with my achamama uh my grandparents essentially and so I've grown up in a household where constantly you hear only about Keralum politics and at that time you know you'd hear a lot about um trade unions about um chandi about all of them and their impact really politics. So I've heard that and then now I see pin vij explain this to me um chandi's son is chandi woman. Yeah.

[00:04:51]>> How does that work? So, you know, I was not sure whether I had got it right. I went to cover his constituency woman chandi son Chandi woman and it's it's an amazing constituency because in Putupali for 51 years uh Oman Chandi won a con. I mean I was thinking half a century someone winning. I mean he's huge.

[00:05:07]There's a health insurance scheme that the congress has promised under the name of Oman Chandi. Uh but you know you go to Putupali and you can see that everywhere you go Oman Chandi is larger than life. You have these figures who don't get discussed enough in national politics because we look at you know Narendra Modi GI and Rahul Gandhi and all the national figure but um Chandi 51 years without losing an election I mean remarkable you spoke about towering personalities in Kerala mall so if you landed in Kerala anywhere you had just one phase across all the billboards that was of the chief minister phase this election was about Pinaray Vijan versus the UDF so in the billboard it was just him and the ads was just him and his administration so he also has taken up a style of saying it's me versus the Congress.