Kerala poll result: BJP leader Rajagopal wins, creates history

Thiruvananthapuram: Former union minister O Rajagopal was elected to the Kerala assembly as the election results were declared on Thursday last, giving the Bhartiya Janata Party its first ever representation in the house.

The 86-year-old veteran politician had won from Nemom constituency in Thiruvananthapuram district by over 8,000 votes after the election. He defeated outgoing Communist Party of India (Marxist) CPI (M) legislator V Sivankutty.

Earlier, Rajagopal had contested the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat in 1999, 2004 and 2014. He finished in the second place behind Shashi Tharoor of the Congress party in 2014.

He had also contested the 2011 assembly polls from Nemon and came second. He secured more than 30,000 votes in a 2012 by-election of Neyyatinkara but could not win.

The BJP had so far never won an assembly or Lok Sabha seat in Kerala. Rajagopal has apparently created history with his victory in Kerala.