Over two months after former union minister and Lok Sabha MP E Ahamed passed away, his constituency Malappuram went to vote on April 12. On Monday, as early leads began to come in on counting day, Indian Union muslim League’s (IUML) candidate PK Kunhalikutty opened his account with a lead of more than 3,000 votes.

A few hours into counting, as Kunhalikutty maintained a lead ahead of Communist Party of India-Marxist’s (CPM) MB Faisal and Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) N Sreeprakash, by Kunhalikutty registered a  victory. Kunhalikutty broke records as he polled more than 5 lakh votes.

After the counting was over, the final vote share stood at 4,94,208 votes for IUML, 3,25102 for CPM and 62,666 for BJP.

Malappuram Lok Sabha seat has seven Assembly constituencies — Malappuram, Vengara, Kondotty, Vallikkunnu, Perinthalmanna, Mankada and Manjeri. This has been a stronghold of IUML — an important ally of the United Democratic front (UDF). Kunhalikutty was a Member of Legislative Assembly from Vengara Assembly constituency. With his move to the Lok Sabha seat, the Assembly seat has fallen vacant.