Chelakkara Assembly bypoll: Voter turnout hits 74.57%

Thrissur: In the Chelakkara Assembly seat byelection, polling concluded with a voter turnout of 74.54% by 6.45 pm. Six candidates contested in the byelection, which was triggered by the election of LDF's K Radhakrishnan to the Lok Sabha from the Alathur constituency.

Radhakrishnan won the seat in 2021, defeating UDF's Ramya Haridas, who held it in 2019. Haridas is now back in the fray, contesting against LDF’s U R Pradeep and NDA’s K Balakrishnan.

In the 2021 Assembly elections, nearly two lakh voters were registered in Chelakkara. The LDF had won by a significant margin of 39,400 votes. However, in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the lead narrowed to just 5,173 votes.

Political enthusiasm was high in Chelakkara, with nine panchayats—Kondazhi, Thiruvilwamala, Pazhayannur, Chelakkara, Panjal, Vallathol Nagar, Mullurkara, Varavoor, and Desamangalam—actively engaged in the contest. The LDF currently controls six of these panchayats, while the UDF governs three.

Earlier on Tuesday, a cash controversy erupted in Chelakkara. During a routine vehicle inspection, authorities seized approximately Rs 20 lakh from a car passenger. A subsequent search at his residence in Palakkad uncovered an additional five lakh rupees.

The CPM has accused the money of belonging to a Congress councillor in Palakkad, while the Congress has countered the claim, accusing the CPM of seizing funds tied to a close associate of E P Jayarajan.