17th Lok Sabha result, Kerala: Cong ahead, Rahul wins Wayanad with record margin

Thiruvananthapuram: Opposition Congress wins five Lok Sabha seats and was leading in ten others in Kerala Thursday.

Congress candidates, Ramya Haridas, Dean Kuriakose, V K Sreekantan, Hibi Eden, T N Prathapan have won, Election Commission sources told PTI.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi won from Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, as he registered an unassailable lead against his nearest CPI rival.

According to latest EC data on counting trends, Gandhi was ahead of P P Suneer by about 4.31 lakh votes in the seat, his second, clearly heading for a win.

Gandhi conceded defeat in his traditional north bastion Amethi in Uttar Pradesh against BJP's Smriti Irani, now being described as 'giant-slayer'.

Ramya won from the reserved constituency of Alathur with a margin of over 1.58 lakh votes against her nearest rival and two-time sitting CPI(M) MP P K Biju.

Kuriakose wrested the Idukki seat from the CPI(M) backed independent candidate Joice George with a margin of 1.71 lakh votes.

Sreekantan, who proved to be a dark horse and never featured in any exit poll or survey, defeated two-time CPI(M) MP M B Rajesh by a lead of over 11,000 votes.

Eden romped home in Ernakulam defeating P Rajeev of CPIM by over 1.60 lakh votes while Prathapan triumphed over Rajaji Mathew Thomas of CPI in Thrissur by over 93,000 votes.

Counting of votes polled in the 17 Lok Sabha seats in the state is underway with the Congress headed for a sweep.

Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses et all. Happy reading.