Kerala poll stumps Sreesanth, ex-cricketer loses in Thiruvananthapuram

Former cricketer S Sreesanth, who recently joined the BJP, lost in his Thiruvananthapuram constituency in the Kerala assembly election results declared on Thursday.

The former India pacer managed to secure 34,764 votes but lost the contest to VS Sivakumar of the Congress by 11710 votes.

“Thanks to all the supporters for all the love and respect… will surly keep working for the people,” the former cricketer tweeted.

Sreesanth was given a life ban by the BCCI in September 2013 after being found guilty of spot-fixing in that year’s IPL tournament. However, a Delhi court exonerated Sreesanth along with two other cricketers--Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila--in July 2015 in the high-profile IPL match-fixing case which had blown the lid off cricket’s biggest scandal in recent times.

Read: Cong ousted in Kerala, BJP wins Assam; Mamata, Jaya retain power

The 33-year-old had earlier said his name had been cleared by the court in the match-fixing case and he was not worried about any political attack over the controversy.

Former Union minister O Rajagopal was elected to the Kerala assembly, giving the BJP its first ever representation in the House.

The Election Commission said the 86-year-old political veteran had won from Nemom constituency in Thiruvananthapuram district by over 8,000 votes.

Full Coverage: Assembly Elections 2016

“Congrats sir.. .Rajagopal sir... totally deserved victory... it’s just the beginning… gods grace,” Sreesanth tweeted.

The United Democratic Front (UDF) suffered one of its worst defeats in Kerala. The Congress, which had 39 legislators in the outgoing assembly, was set to win 23 of the 140 seats. The UDF itself will have to be content with 46 seats.

The Left Democratic Front (LDF) led by the CPI-M was set to win 92 seats. The BJP won one seat. PC George, who contested as an independent, was also declared elected.