Rahul Mamkoottathil, the freshly declared UDF candidate for the Palakkad Assembly constituency, said he would begin his campaigning by visiting Puthuppally, the hometown of late Congress leader Oommen Chandy.

"If he were with us today, I would call him first, or he would have rang me to inform me about my candidature. I would like to begin by visiting Puthuppally, and the rest will be decided by the leadership," Mamkoottathil said.

The Palakkad Assembly bypoll was necessitated by the exit of MLA Shafi Parambil, who was elected as an MP from Vadakara in the recent Lok Sabha elections. Shafi had edged BJP's E Sreedharan by 3,859 votes in the 2021 Assembly elections.

Mamkoottathil thanked the Congress leadership for the opportunity. "I feel happy and proud. From the KSU unit committee at the Catholicate College to the state Youth Congress president's post and now this candidature, the party has given me so many chances," Mamkoottathil said.

The Pathanamthitta native said he was familiar with the Palakkad constituency, having worked there during Shafi's campaign. "I have connections with Palakkad since my days as general secretary of KSU. During the campaign for Shafi, I travelled throughout the constituency," he said.