In the end, the story of the byelection in Puthuppally ended with no major surprises. The inherent anti-Left sentiment of the region and the personal charisma of the late Oommen Chandy were enough for the United Democratic Front (UDF) to notch up an impressive victory here. Cashing in on the emotional wave triggered by the death of Chandy, it struck deep into the pockets of both the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to make a clean sweep of all eight panchayats in the segment. Most notably, it could ensure lead in all but one out of the 182 booths across the segment.
The Congress-led coalition United Democratic Front (UDF), which could readily seize on a perceived surge in anti-incumbency against the Pinarayi Vijayan government, maintained its systematic work all through. Under the supervision of Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan, the entire coalition machinery lined up behind Chandy Oommen and quietly ran a campaign focussing on the grassroots.
