Congress leads in 18 of 20 seats in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram, May 23 As the vote count for the 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala began on Thursday morning, initial trends showed that the Congress was ahead in 18 places and the Left in two others, official sources said.

The BJP candidate in Thiruvananthapuram, after showing initial promise, slipped to the second position behind Congress candidate Shashi Tharoor. Tharoor was leading by over 1,000 votes.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi was leading in Wayanad by over 10,000 votes, the sources said.

The Left candidates were leading in Kannur by 300 votes and at Mavelikera by around 600.

In all there will be 14 rounds of counting.