“This is the victory of everyone who loved Appa (father),” Congress leader Chandy Oommen told the media on Friday, September 8, soon after securing an emphatic mandate in the Puthuppally Assembly bye-election with a total of 80,144 votes, the highest vote count any candidate has recorded in Puthuppally. The bye-election was necessitated by the demise of his father and two-time Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who had represented the segment consecutively for 53 years until he passed away on July 18, after a prolonged battle with cancer.
Speaking to media persons after the Election Commission (EC) officially declared his victory, Chandy Oommen said, “This mandate is for the continuation of Appa's 53 years of development activities in the constituency. Whether they voted for me or did not, everyone is equal to me. Let us all stand together and work for the development of Puthuppally. Just like my father, I will also be there for you.”
The MLA-elect also expressed his gratitude to the Congress’s national leadership including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, thanking them for extending their support to his family and his candidature in Puthuppally. He also thanked Congress’s national president Mallikarjun Kharge.
Chandy Oommen’s victory margin of 37,719 votes had even surpassed that of his veteran father, whose highest margin was 33,255 votes against CPI(M)’s Suja Susan George in the 2011 Assembly election. Jaick C Thomas, who was the CPI(M)’s candidate for the bye-election this time, came a distant second with 42,425 votes. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Lijin Lal registered 6,558 votes.