Palakkad bypolls: Congress’s Rahul Mamkootathil comes in from behind to take lead

In the Palakkad Assembly bypolls, Congress’s Rahul Mamkootathil has taken a lead with 49,509 votes, as per the latest data shared by the Election Commission of India (ECI). He is followed by BJP candidate C Krishnakumar, who has secured 34,210 votes in Palakkad bypolls, and is trailing by a margin of 15,299 votes.
Independent candidate Dr P Sarin is lagging behind the electoral race with 27,926 votes, a loss of 21,583 votes.
The counting of votes started on Saturday morning at Victoria College, where the strong room was opened at 8 am.
Palakkad, a Congress stronghold, is seen as the BJP’s most favorable Assembly constituency in Kerala. The seat has over 70 percent Hindu voters, and the BJP finished second in the last two Assembly elections.
Initially, BJP candidate C Krishnakumar was in the lead following the first round of the counting, as per the ECI. However, by the 7th round, Congress’s Rahul Mamkootathil took the lead, with a margin of 1,425 votes.
The bypoll was necessitated after the resignation of Congress leader Shafi Parambil, who vacated the seat after winning the Vadakara seat in the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year.
In 2016, Shafi Parambil won the Palakkad seat with 57,559 votes, defeating BJP candidate Sobha Surendran by 17,483 votes. Sobha received 40,076 votes.
Meanwhile, in the Wayanad bypolls, Congress candidate Priyanaka Gandhi Vadra is leading the electoral race with 3,17,983 votes, while Sathyan Mokeri, Communist Party of India (CPI) candidate, is trailing with 1,08,810 votes.