THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Four ministers, Speaker, Deputy Speaker and Government Chief Whip fell by the wayside in the LDF wave that swept the state on Thursday. Tainted excise minister K. Babu against whom a petition is pending in the court in connection with bar bribe case, lost to débutante M. Swaraj of the CPM from Trippunithura. KPCC president V.M. Sudheeran had opposed his candidature, but owing to pressure from Chief Minister Oommen Chandy he was allowed to contest.
Agriculture minister K.P. Mohanan was trounced by CPM central committee member K.K. Shylaja in Koothuparamba. Tribal affairs minister P.K. Jayalakshmi who was the lone woman UDF candidate to win the polls in 2011, was defeated by O.R. Kelu of the CPM. Labour minister Shibu Baby John faced defeat at the hands of Vijayan Pillai of CPM in Chavara. His party RSP was completely wiped out of electoral scene in Kollam district.
Speaker N. Sakthan suffered a shock defeat at the hands of I.B. Satheesh of the CPM in Kattakada constituency. Deputy Speaker Palode Ravi who contested from Nedumngad, was trounced by CPI leader and former minister C. Divakaran.
Governemnt Chief Whip Thomas Unniydan suffered shock defeat in Irinjalakuda at the hands of K.U. Arunan of the CPM. However, apart from Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, 15 ministers including home minister Ramesh Chennithala, forest minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, industry minister P.K. Kunhalikutty withstood the LDF wave and emerged victorious.
