Thiruvananthapuram: Youth Congress State President Rahul Mamkoottathil and former MP Ramya Haridas are expected to contest the Palakkad and Chelakkara assembly bypolls as candidates for the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF). The official announcement is expected this evening. Earlier, the Congress had declared that Priyanka Gandhi would contest the Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll.
Polls for all three constituencies—Palakkad, Chelakkara, and Wayanad—will be held on November 13, with counting scheduled for November 23, according to the Election Commission of India. Candidates can file their nominations starting from October 18.
The by-election for Wayanad was necessitated after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi retained the Raebareli seat, having won both seats in the recent Lok Sabha elections. Meanwhile, the Palakkad and Chelakkara bypolls were triggered by the victories of Congress MLA Shafi Parambil and CPM MLA K. Radhakrishnan, who won the Vadakara and Alathur Lok Sabha seats, respectively.
The CPM and CPI have yet to announce their candidates for the assembly and Lok Sabha seats. Reports suggest that the BJP is likely to field Sandeep Varier in Palakkad and T N Sarasu in Chelakkara.
