A senior BJP leader with a track record of improving her party’s vote share in every election she contests, a film personality on a Congress ticket, and a local hotelier backed by the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) have heated up the contest for the Palakkad Assembly constituency.
Adding a layer of intrigue to the contest — which will see a triangular fight in Palakkad between the BJP’s Sobha Surendran, the Congress’s Ramesh Pisharody and Independent N M R Razack in the April 9 Assembly elections — is the CPI(M)-LDF’s decision to back the hotelier, which has triggered the allegations of a CPI(M)-BJP “deal” from the Congress.
BJP’s growth
The Hindu community accounts for about 60% of the electorate in the Palakkad seat, which has around 35% Muslim voters. The CPI(M)’s decision to back Razack has prompted allegations that the ruling front is attempting to split Muslim votes — seen as part of a traditional Congress support base — to benefit the BJP.
In 1996, the CPI, a constituent of the LDF, fielded T K Noushad from the minority community, and won the seat, but lost it in 2001. At the time, the BJP was not a significant force in this agrarian belt.
The constituency has seen the BJP emerge as the principal challenger to the Congress, which has been winning it since 2011. The Palakkad municipality was the first in the state to be ruled by the BJP, which continues to hold power in the local body, albeit with a slender majority.
The BJP has fielded candidates in Palakkad since the 1980s, but its breakthrough moment came in the 2016 Assembly polls where it emerged as the runner-up for the first time, pushing the CPI(M) to the third position. In that election, Sobha garnered 29.08% of votes as compared to the party’s 19.86% votes in 2011.
Congress’s concerns
Congress leader Shafi Parambil has held the Palakkad seat since 2011. Following his election to the Lok Sabha in the 2024 polls, the seat was retained by Youth Congress leader Rahul Mamkootathil in the subsequent bypoll.
In this election, however, the Congress faces a major challenge due to sexual harassment allegations against Mamkootathil, with the scandal leading to his expulsion from the party last year. Adding to its embarrassment, a Congress councillor, M Prasob, was recently sacked over allegations of raping a Dalit woman. While Prasob remains absconding, these cases have provided fresh ammunition to the party’s rivals.
Modi’s campaign
The BJP sees Sobha’s candidature as a key factor that could decide the outcome of the polls. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the increase in the party’s vote share in Alappuzha to 28.3% from 17.24% in 2019 was attributed to her, when K S Radhakrishnan was its candidate.
In her campaign, which has been drawing large crowds, Sobha has been emphasising on development and the “Modi guarantee”.
“People have faith in Modi. Our workers are enthused by his guarantee of development. So far, our machinery has focused mainly on the party-ruled municipality. This time, we have activated our network in three panchayats within the constituency, where paddy farmers are in crisis. We have taken up farmers’ issues. I have promised voters that Palakkad will receive a Rs 700-crore package within 90 days if the BJP wins the seat,” she said.
Last Sunday, addressing a rally in Palakkad, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed her candidature as the BJP’s “commitment to women’s empowerment”.
The Congress’s candidate Pisharody, an actor who is making his electoral debut, however downplayed Modi’s visit. “Modi’s visit might have energised BJP workers, but we have a large number of supporters beyond that crowd. Even during a pro-Left wave in the state, the people of Palakkad stood with the Congress,” he said Wednesday, a day after his colleagues held a roadshow in his support.
