Piravom by-poll on March 18, counting on Mar 21

Thursday, February 16, 2012: Election Commission of India on Thursday informed that the by-poll to the Piravom Assembly constituency will be conducted on March 18 and the vote counting will be held on March 21. The Assembly seat fell vacant after the death of Kerala Congress leader T.M. Jacob
Jacob’s death has further narrowed down the UDF majority in the 140-member Assembly. According to political observers, if the UDF fails to retain Piravom, it could only shake the government.
Kerala Congress (J) has already announced Jacob’s son Anoop Jacob as the party’s nominee for the bye-election, date for which is yet to announced by the Election Commission.
The Congress, as lead partner, is unlikely to oppose the proposal expecting that the sympathy factor will help Anoop sail through smoothly, where his father had won by just 157 votes over his LDF rival in the April 13 Assembly elections.