Palakkad bypoll to see triangular contest, candidates file papers

PTI Palakkad: As election fever grips the Palakkad Assembly constituency, where a triangular contest is on the cards in the forthcoming by-election, candidates from the three major political fronts in Kerala, including the CPI(M)-led LDF and the Congress-led UDF, submitted their nominations to the returning officer on Thursday. The candidate of the BJP-led NDA, C Krishnakumar, filed his nomination papers on Wednesday. UDF candidate Rahul Mamkootathil and LDF's Dr P Sarin submitted their nominations to Revenue Divisional Officer S. Sreejith on Thursday.

Mamkootathil filed his nomination around 12 pm, following a UDF rally from the Palakkad District Congress Committee office. He was joined by AICC secretary and MLA P C Vishnunath, Shafi Parambil, MP, who is a former MLA of the constituency, and other leaders of the UDF. Before submitting his nomination, Mamkootathil participated in the housewarming ceremony at his new rented flat in Palakkad. Workers and senior leaders of the Left Front in Palakkad district accompanied Sarin when he arrived at the RDO office from the Palakkad CPI(M) district committee office to submit his nomination papers. Sarin, who was the former digital media cell convener of the KPCC, visited the memorial of K Karunakaran at Murali Mandiram in Thrissur on Thursday before filing his nomination. Sarin recently quit the Congress in protest against the party's decision to field Mamkootathil as the party candidate in the constituency. He later joined the CPI(M)-led alliance, which made him an independent candidate. The bypolls in the Palakkad and Chelakkara Assembly seats were necessitated after Congress's Shafi Parambil and CPI(M)'s K Radhakrishnan vacated their seats after being elected to the Lok Sabha from the Vadakara and Alathur constituencies, respectively.

In the 2021 assembly poll, the BJP's candidate, 'Metroman' E Sreedharan, lost to Parambil by a margin of 3,850 votes, while the CPI(M) candidate finished in third place in the Palakkad seat. The last date for filing nominations is Friday. Scrutiny will take place on October 28, and the last date for withdrawal of nominations is October 30. According to the Election Commission of India, polling for the two Assembly constituencies Palakkad and Chelakkara and the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat will take place on November 13, with the counting of votes scheduled for November 23.