CPI trailing in all four Kerala seats it contested

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Communist Party of India (CPI) is on the verge of losing all four of the Lok Sabha seats that it had contested in Kerala.

The CPI had three seats - of Kerala's 20 Lok Sabha seats - in the outgoing Lok Sabha. It had chosen not to renominate any of its old MPs and pitched for new candidates.

The biggest margin of defeat for the CPI is likely to come from the newly constituted Wayanad seat where the Congress' M.I. Shahnawaz is leading by over 97,000 votes.

At the Thiruvananthapuram seat, former UN undersecretary general Shashi Tharoor of the Congress had increased his lead to more than 60,000 votes against CPI candidate Ramachandran Nair.

At Trissur, T.N. Jayadevan was trailing by around 20,000 votes; at the newly constituted Mavelikara seat, its R.S. Anil was trailing by over 30,000 votes.

CPI state secretary Veliyam Bharghavan said this was not a reflection of the governance of the state government, in which the CPI is the second biggest partner.