Kozhikode: Karat Faisal, the controversial independent candidate from No 15 of Koduvally municipality, has registered a resounding victory.

While LDF candidate and INL leader Abdul Rasheed could not poll even a single vote, Faisal secured 568 votes to register an emphatic win.

Though Faisal had initially entered the electoral fray as an independent supported by CPM, the LDF withdrew its support after he was questioned by Customs in connection with the gold smuggling case. Subsequently, Abdul Rasheed of INL was fielded as the LDF candidate.

Though Rasheed was the official candidate of LDF, there was no campaign worth the name for him during elections. The absence of the LDF campaign also figured widely in the local media.

Muslim League candidate KK Khader came second securing 495 votes while NDA’s P T Sadasivan got 50 votes. Karat Faisal’s namesake who entered the fray as an independent candidate also managed to get 7 votes.

Meanwhile, UDF has won 13 seats in Koduvally municipality and it is leading in 15 seas. LDF has won four seats and is leading in an identical number of wards.