The difference in the margin between Mr. Vishnunath and Mr. Pillai was a little over 2,000 votes. Within the Congress, the seat has been in the grasp of the Oommen Chandy faction. The imperatives of winning the seat has triggered speculations that the Congress has opened dialogue with the Kerala Congress (M). Congress leaders are yet to get a positive signal from the Kerala Congress (M) in order to initiate any kind of dialogues, whatsoever. According to Kerala Congress (M) sources, the party leadership is in the process of preparing an approach paper on the State’s development, with special emphasis on the agriculture sector.

Source: The Hindu January 20, 2018 12:11 UTC