Jose K Mani secures victory; Rajya Sabha elections begin

Thiruvananthapuram: The election for the vacant Rajya Sabha seat has started. Kerala Congress M chairman Jose K Mani has resigned following a change of front. Jose K. Mani is contesting as the LDF candidate. Congress leader Sooranad Rajasekharan is the UDF candidate.

Voting will take place at a specially set up polling booth in the Assembly complex. Voting ends at 4 p.m. The vote will be counted at 5 p.m. According to the strength of the assembly, the victory of LDF candidate Jose K. Mani is certain. The Left Front has 99 members in the assembly. The UDF has 41 members.

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CPM leader and former minister TP Ramakrishnan and P Mummykutty will not contest the polls as Covid is undergoing treatment. UDF member PT Thomas is also undergoing treatment.

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Earlier in the UDF, Jose K Mani won the Rajya Sabha seat in 2018. He resigned from the UDF on January 11, 2021. The term of this seat is till July 1, 2024. The LDF seat was given to the Kerala Congress MLA following the practice of giving the seat to the party itself when leaving the front.