THIRUVANTHAPURAM: The excitement and tension of the Aruvikkara counting were reflected in the Assembly also on Tuesday. With Mr K.S. Sabarinathan maintaining lead right from the beginning, the treasury bench remained jubilant while the Opposition plunged into gloom.
A group of UDF MLAs was glued to the television set in the Speaker’s office while Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and other senior leaders remained in the House itself.
Young MLA Shafi Parambil kept on updating the Chief Minister on the trends. An excited Shafi often ran into the House and jotted down the lead on a paper on the Chief Minister’s table and the CM eagerly looked at it with obvious glee. This happened right from 8.30 a.m. till the results were declared. Other senior UDF leaders were also checking the trends with Mr Shafi.
As Mr Sabarinathan established a clear lead by around 9:15 a.m., Mr Benny Behanan congratulated Mr Chandy by shaking hands with him.
Other leaders like Mr P. K. Kunhalikutty and Mr K. M. Mani also followed suit. Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, though happy, was busy preparing notes for the discussions in the House leading to whispers in the corridors that he was upset over the lost chance to grab the baton from Mr Chandy.
The LDF leaders pretended to ignore the results. However, the frustration in the LDF camp came out through Mr A.K. Balan. As IUML MLA P.K. Basheer kept on shouting against the corruption allegations made by Opposition Leader V. S. Achuthanandan against Food Minister Anoop Jacob, Mr Balan reacted saying, “don’t think that you can do anything as you have won an election.”
By 10.35 a.m. the UDF MLAs, who were watching the TV, rushed to the House in a cheering mood. LDF MLA Mathew T. Thomas, who had to halt his speech, hit back stating that the UDF should be obliged to the BJP for the victory. CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan was not in the House at this time.
