PALAKKAD: As summer settles over Palakkad and people prepare for the annual season of velas, poorams and utsavams, a churn is under way in the constituency’s political arena – one that could redefine the balance of power in one of Kerala’s most closely watched and fiercely contested assembly seats.
For over two decades, Palakkad has sustained a triangular dynamic, with UDF, LDF and NDA maintaining pockets of influence. From alternating mandates, Palakkad witnessed a phase of relative consolidation under Congress, particularly during Shafi Parambil’s successive victories. At the same time, the BJP steadily strengthened its organisational base, especially in municipal and urban segments, culminating in its dramatic surge in the 2021 assembly elections that established it as a formidable contender. In the 2025 local body elections, it returned in Palakkad municipality for the third straight term, albeit with reduced seat tally. As for the LDF, it had the second highest votes and improved its numbers in Palakkad seat despite the UDF wave.
There are 1.9 lakh voters in Palakkad assembly constituency. The turnout was 70.52% in the 2024 bypoll and 75.44% and 77.25% in the 2021 and 2016 assembly elections, respectively.
“Palakkad assembly always witnesses triangular contest. The Muslim community with about 37,000 votes, and the Nair, Moothan, Brahmin and Chettiyar communities have always had a clear choice. Ezhavas, the biggest community with over 60,000 votes, see split depending on candidates. Muslim and Ezhava votes decide the verdict,” says Boban Mattumantha, a social activist and Congress sympathiser. He predicts a repeat of the 2024 assembly byelection in 2026.
Rahul Mamkootathil won in the bypoll with a record 18,840 votes. Projected as the young and aggressive face of the Congress, he is now a poster boy for controversies owing to a series of sexual harassment allegations and subsequent arrest.
Though the Congress acted swiftly by disassociating itself from Rahul, the issue affected organisational cohesion in ward-level battles in 2025.
“Neither Congress MLAs who represented the constituency nor BJP who has been ruling the municipality could bring development. People know about the development projects brought by the LDF government across the state. We hope they will support development,” said a CPM district secretariat member.
However, other than the nearly-empty government medical college, hardly any project has come up in Palakkad in five years.
“Firstly, Shafi moved to Vadakara as MP and Rahul did not get sufficient time,” argued a KPCC member, admitting that politics in Palakkad constituency comes down to emotions, controversies and religion rather than people-centric development activities. “One of the oldest towns in the South under the Madras government, Palakkad remains congested, lacking even basic amenities, while all other towns in Tamil Nadu became developed,” he said.
The BJP is wary, thanks to internal issues and decline in votes. “It is true we could not perform as expected in December. The assembly election will be more focused. Palakkad is one of our sure-win seats. Once the party announces its candidate, we will function like a well-oiled machine,” said a BJP leader.
Several prominent names have surfaced in preliminary discussions. In NDA, senior BJP leaders K Surendran and Shobha Surendran, and BJP district president (East) Prasanth Sivan are among those reportedly under consideration. In UDF, former IAS officer Kannan Gopinath, former KPCC president K Muraleedharan, and DCC president A Thankappan figure in talks.
P Sarin, who contested as an independent in the 2024 bypoll, former MLA T K Noushad and former MP N N Krishnadas are the contenders in LDF. However, there is also speculation the front may go with an unexpected candidate.
