Kerala set for bypolls as 2 MLAs, including state minister, elected to Lok Sabha

Three other sitting MLAs fielded by the CPI(M) – K K Shailaja, M Mukesh, and V Joy – did not win from their parliamentary constituencies.

K Radhakrishnan (left) and Shafi Parambil (right)

With two sitting legislators elected to the Lok Sabha from Kerala, the stage is set for byelection in two Assembly constituencies – Chelakkara and Palakkad.

Chelakkara’s CPI(M) MLA K Radhakrishnan was elected as an MP from the Alathur Lok Sabha constituency, and Palakkad’s Congress MLA Shafi Parambil won from Vadakara Lok Sabha seat.

Radhakrishnan is the minister for temple affairs and SC/ST welfare, and is the only Dalit face in the Cabinet. The CPI(M) is yet to decide on whether to go for a Cabinet overhaul to deal with the situation.

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Three other sitting MLAs fielded by the CPI(M) – K K Shailaja, M Mukesh, and V Joy – did not win from their parliamentary constituencies.

Congress had fielded just one legislator, Shafi Parambil, who had represented Palakkad Assembly seat since 2011. In the 2021 elections, Shafi had defeated BJP’s high profile candidate E Sreedharan.

Also read | The Kerala Story: Congress-led UDF sweeps state but BJP scripts history

The Congress in Kerala is also keenly awaiting a decision from the party leader Rahul Gandhi on his Wayanad seat. As he has won Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh as well in the 2024 elections, he will have to jettison one of the seats. Since Wayanad is Congress’s safest seat in Kerala, there would be strong contenders from the party if Rahul decides to drop this constituency.

Wayanad was earlier represented by Congress leader M I Shanavas for two terms since the formation of the constituency in 2009. After Shanavas’s death in 2018, Congress finalised the name T Siddique for the 2019 elections before eventually fielding Rahul Gandhi from the seat.

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