Public Campaign Comes to an End in Palakkad Assembly Bypoll

Thiruvananthapuram: The public campaign for the Palakkad assembly by-election concluded on Monday, with hundreds of supporters of the three main contenders—the Congress-led UDF, the CPM-led LDF, and the BJP-led NDA—gathering at the town centre for the grand finale.

The constituency saw over a month of fervent campaigning. The leading candidates—Rahul Mamkootathil from the UDF, Dr. P Sarin from the LDF, and C Krishna Kumar from the BJP—rallied their supporters to the central town junction on Monday evening as the campaign peaked.

The voting will take place on November 20 and the counting will take place on November 23. The Palakkad by-election was necessitated because of the election of sitting MLA Shafi Parampil as MP from Vadakara constituency in 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Shafi emerged victorious over BJP candidate Metro Man E Sreedharan in a tightly contested race.

The Congress faced a setback immediately after the election announcement in October when its youth leader and IT Cell Chief, P Sarin, resigned and joined the Left camp. He was promptly nominated as the independent candidate backed by the CPM-led LDF, contesting with the stethoscope symbol. The candidates of Congress and the BJP are contesting on their party symbols Hand and Lotus respectively.

The BJP, which secured second place in the previous election, encountered internal strife. The nomination of C Krishna Kumar as their candidate met with resistance from some party leaders.

The BJP's challenges intensified when attempts to appease dissatisfied leaders failed, leading to the resignation of their prominent spokesman and state committee member, Sandeep Varier, who defected to the Congress just days before the election.

The constituency saw an intense campaign, with senior leaders from all three fronts actively supporting their candidates. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his cabinet, and CPM state secretary M V Govindan campaigned for Sarin, while KPCC president K Sudhakaran, opposition leader V D Satheeshan, and MP V K Sreekantan addressed a series of rallies in support of the Congress candidate Rahul.

The BJP's campaign efforts were spearheaded by state president K Surendran, union minister Suresh Gopi, and Shobha Surendran.