The much awaited results of the exit polls conducted by Malayalam channels, published on Sunday gave a clear upper hand to the Congress led UDF in Kerala. Out of the 20 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state, UDF will get more that half of the seats, predicts exit poll results conducted by two leading media houses in Kerala.
One out of the two exit polls predicted that NDA will open it's account in Kerala by winning the Thiruvananthapuram seat. Significantly, the exit poll results also predict that LDF's vote share will decrease from 2014.
The exit polls by Manorama News with Karvy Insights, predicted that UDF will get 13 out of the 20 seats, while 5 seats will witness a photo finish including in Thiruvananthapuram. The poll said that LDF will win two seats and will secure 36% of the vote share, which is 4% less than what it garnered in 2014.
The exit poll by Mathrubhumi News and Geowide India, predicted that UDF will secure a thumping victory by getting 15 out of the 20 total seats, NDA will open its account in Thiruvananthapuram and LDF will get only 5 seats. According to Mathrubhumi news, BJP's former state president Kummanam Rajasekharan will defeat two time Congress MP Shashi Tharoor from this seat.
In 2014, UDF had won 12 seats while the LDF had managed to win in 8 seats.
The two exit poll results also predicted that Congress President Rahul Gandhi will win from Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency.
Pathanamthitta is a constituency which had received national attention, after becoming the epicentre of protests regarding entry of menstruating women into Sabarimala temple. Though the BJP had expected to win this seat, both exit polls predict that UDF will retain Pathanamthitta and BJP’s K Surendran will not be able to win. According to both the polls, despite a defeat, Surendran will be able to increase his voter share exponentially.
In Vadakara, by fielding a powerful CPI(M) candidate – P Jayarajan, the Left had tried to wrest back the seat from UDF. But both exit polls predicted that Vadakara will remain with UDF.
Also, both the exit polls gave an upper hand to UDF’s Remya Haridas in Alathur. Remya who was handpicked by Congress High Command had attracted much attention for her varied campaigning methods.
Meanwhile, the exit poll by Republic-Jan Ki Baat predicted that BJP will open account in Kerala by winning two seats. UDF will get 14 to 16 seats and LDF will only get 5 to 4 seats, predicted the poll.
Whereas Republic – CVoter has predicted that NDA will not open its account in Kerala in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. They predict that UDF will win 15 seats and LDF will shrink to just 5 seats.