At 10:45 am, Tharoor said that with 18% of votes counted, his lead crossed 15,000 margin.
As per trends at 10:40 am, Tharoor was reported to have taken a good lead in the contest against BJP’s Kummanam Rajasekharan.
An hour after the counting process begun, he tweeted “Not getting excited about just 4% of the votes counted, but it's welcome news that I took the lead from the start & am holding on to it!”
An hour later he said that he has maintained his lead throughout. He said “ In a three-cornered contest (unlike most of Kerala) any victory is bound to be narrower than where it's a 2-cornered fight. UDF candidates leading in all 20 Kerala constituencies.”
He tweeted: “With 12% counted i have maintained my lead throughout: current lead over BJP is 4956, with Left 3rd. In a three-cornered contest (unlike most of Kerala) any victory is bound to be narrower than where it's a 2-cornered fight. UDF candidates leading in all 20 Kerala constituencies!”
Tharoor is contesting from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala against BJP leader Kummanam Rajasekharan, who is also a former Governor of Mizoram.
Earlier today Tharoor had tweeted his picture offering prayers ahead of the counting process. He wrote: “D-Day at last! Will it be D for Deliverance for the nation from 5 years of misgovernance, ineptitude & bigotry, or D for Disappointment & Despair for all who who believe in #InclusiveIndia, responsible governance, liberal social values & economic justice?”