Pinarayi Trails in Third Round; LDF Stunned
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| വിപി അബ്ദുല് റഷീദ്, പിണറായി വിജയന് |
Summary: As the third round of counting concludes, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan continues to trail in the Dharmadam constituency. He is currently behind by 2,077 votes.
UDF candidate V.P. Abdul Rashid is leading the race. Pinarayi Vijayan fell behind during the first round itself, specifically when the votes from the LDF-governed Chembilode Panchayat were counted.
The UDF took the lead in the very rounds where Pinarayi Vijayan had maintained a strong advantage in the previous election. In 2016, Pinarayi secured 87,329 votes in Dharmadam, increasing his tally to 95,522 in 2021. Mambaram Divakaran was the Congress candidate in both 2011 and 2016, while C. Raghunath contested for Congress in 2021.
This time, Congress fielded a young face, V.P. Abdul Rashid, for the battle in Dharmadam. K. Ranjith is the BJP candidate.
V.P. Abdul Rashid has been active in Dharmadam for the past five years and resides in Peralassery Panchayat. Though he initially sought to contest from Taliparamba, he was eventually moved to the Dharmadam constituency.


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