In Thiruvananthapuram, NDA candidate Rajeev Chandrasekhar faced tough competition from the beginning, but after the counting of votes, UDF candidate Shashi Tharoor won by 15879 votes. At various stages of the counting of votes, the NDA candidate had overtaken Shashi Tharoor. With this, a section of BJP workers in the constituency went into a joyous demonstration like in 2014. But this time Rajeev Chandrasekhar was going to defeat in Thiruvananthapuram in the same manner as Rajagopal had faced then. Shashi Tharoor was supported by the coastal areas where votes were counted at the last minute. Even as Rajiv Chandrasekhar took the lead in the urban constituencies, the coastal region was a solid vote bank behind the UDF’s confidence that it would not relinquish the constituency. That belief saved the coast and gave Shashi Tharoor his fourth victory.
On the other hand, Rajeev Chandrasekhar was leading in the urban areas but could not get the expected lead, which became a big setback for the NDA. The BJP was expecting a big lead in all the constituencies of Vattiyoorkav, Nemam, Thiruvananthapuram and Kazhakootam. It was estimated that 60,000 to 70,000 leads would be received from urban constituencies. But it didn’t happen.
