Elections 98

State:	Kerala
Constituency:	Trivandrum
Total Votes Polled:	766800
Winner: INC	K. Karunakaran	337429
Runner Up: CPI	K.V. Surendra Nath	322031
Margin: 15398 (5%)

Elections 96

State:	Kerala
Constituency:	Thiruvananthapuram
Total Votes Polled:	721087
Winner: CPI	K V Surendranath	312622
Runner Up: INC	A Charles	291820
Margin: 20802 (2.95%)

The capital city has a rather unique distinction, in that it was represented in Parliament for an Independent in the first three elections. The first time the Congress won from here was in 1980, but the sitting MP A Charles was defeated by the CPI's K V Surendranath in 1996. The BJP's Raman Pillai came in third with 10.43 % of the vote.