Kottayam

Union Minister of State George Kurian finished in third place in the Kanjirappally Assembly constituency in the recently concluded Kerala elections, according to counting trends.

Kurian, who handles Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, as well as Minority Affairs, was fielded by the BJP in a constituency with a significant Christian voter base.

After the 15th round of counting out of 16, Kurian was trailing in third position, behind Congress candidate Rony K Baby and sitting MLA N Jayaraj of Kerala Congress.

Rony K Baby secured 56,646 votes, followed by Jayaraj with 50,874 votes, while Kurian polled 26,984 votes, Election Commission data showed. Kurian was trailing Baby by a margin of over 29,000 votes at that stage.

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Despite the setback in Kanjirappally, the BJP registered gains elsewhere in the state, including victories in Nemom and Chathannoor constituencies.