From January to April, Palakkad unfolds like a grand canvas of celebration, with poorams, velas and nerchas setting the tempo of everyday life. Roads come alive with festoons, temple courtyards shimmer under strings of light, and towering pandals rise. The air trembles to the cadence of vadyam and melam, and thunderous vedikkettu, while crowds gather in a shared rhythm that is as much cultural as it is emotional.
This festival season, though, another spectacle is taking shape — gradually. Political colours are slowly seeping into the same spaces, flags fluttering where festoons once swayed, and towering hoardings replacing festival backdrops. In Shoranur, this transition feels almost seamless.
“It’s like another pooram,” says Prijesh, a 29-year-old delivery partner, watching the election campaign unfold.
Sitting on his two-wheeler in the shade near the Shoranur Fire and Rescue Station, a bulky delivery bag strapped to his back, his tone soon turns reflective. “I travel nearly 80 kms a day. The roads have improved, schools and hospitals are better now. But there still aren’t enough jobs for educated youth here,” he says. Gesturing towards his bag, Prijesh continues: “This is not a permanent option.”
Yet, there is no trace of cynicism. “I will vote,” he adds, “and hope the next government brings more job opportunities.”
A 40-minute ride away, across the New Cochin Bridge, Thrithala comes into view. Unlike the relatively subdued visual campaign in Shoranur, here walls, junctions and shop fronts are layered with posters and graffiti — faces and symbols of LDF’s M B Rajesh and UDF’s V T Balram competing for attention. Though the UDF had the edge in the recent local body polls, the mood on the ground suggests anything but predictability.
“You can’t read assembly results from local body figures,” says B Aravindakshan, who has been an auto rickshaw driver in Anakkara for 20 years. “Voting in local elections often depends on candidates. Once they win, parties claim it as political support — which is not true.” He pauses, weighing his words. “This time, Thrithala will witness a close contest. If Rajesh has furthered development, it was Balram who laid much of the groundwork.”
Families out on Eid holidays can be seen in the small hangout spots along the Nila river as we pass Koodallur, the birthplace of the legendary author M T Vasudevan Nair.
Crossing the Velliyankallu Causeway, Pattambi settles into a slower rhythm. In front of the Muthuthala Mahaganapathy temple, a group of men in their 50s sit beneath a sprawling banyan tree. It is close to noon; out in the open the heat takes it toll, but in the shade, the air feels noticeably cooler.
“Didn’t the delay in finalising candidates put the UDF on the back foot initially?” asks Haridasan V B, a Congress sympathiser. The others nod, but the conversation quickly broadens.
“There has been development,” says Premasundaran, a carpenter. “But there are still pending issues — like the demand for a public crematorium, the sanctioning of quarries close to residential areas, and the need to upgrade the taluk hospital in Pattambi. These are the issues people will talk about this election.”
In Ottapalam constituency, the campaign is yet to gather momentum. While posters of LDF candidate N Premkumar and NDA’s Major Ravi are visible on the Varode-Mangalam stretch, those of UDF candidate P K Sasi are absent.
"All eyes will be on Ottapalam because of Sasi’s candidature, right?” asks Rubeena Farhan, a college student, adding that she does not have much interest in politics. “Whoever works for the people should win,” she says, as she pays the bill for a food parcel at a restaurant.
At Cherukulam, in Alathur constituency, paddy farmers are toiling in the sun. “It’s harvest time. But, the machines sink into the slush, as there is water in the fields. Even if we manage to cut the crop, we don’t know what to do with the paddy. The government and cooperative banks promise procurement. But we end up waiting... helpless and exhausted,” says Radhakrishnan, a farmer in his late 50s.
Sathrappadi, a major intersection in Malampuzha constituency, is abuzz with hundreds of migrant labourers as they wind up their day after work. Posters of NDA’s C Krishnakumar and LDF’s A Prabhakaran are visible in the crowded pockets, however the constituency is yet to get into the election mood.
At the same time, Palakkad town wears a different look. People are more political than neutral. “This time, it is going to be really tough for both the UDF and the LDF,” says Mukundan, a retired public prosecutor in his late 80s, relaxing outside the Palakkad Fort after his routine evening walk.
The lawns encircling the fort are alive with visitors. “This time, everything seems to be in a hurry. Parties do not have much time for campaigning. However, the long gap to counting was unnecessary,” feels Abdul Hameed, a hotelier based in Ottapalam, who is in Palakkad with family.
This time, the district is set for an extended festival season.