Palakkad: Polling for the Palakkad Assembly byelection concluded with a voter turnout of 70.51%, a decline from 75.44% in 2021. Some booths continued to see queues of voters waiting to cast their votes even after the official close at 6 pm. According to the Election Commission, 1,37,302 voters out of a total of 1,94,706 cast their votes. The results will be announced on November 23.

An altercation broke out at the Vennakkara booth between BJP and UDF workers after UDF candidate Rahul Mamkootathil was stopped from entering the booth. The BJP accused Mamkootathil of entering the booth and questioning voters, while Rahul and his supporters protested the refusal to allow him inside.

The byelection was necessitated after Congress leader Shafi Parambil resigned as MLA, having been elected to the Lok Sabha from Vadakara in the general elections. A total of ten candidates are in the fray, with the key contenders being Rahul Mamkootathil (Congress-led UDF), P Sarin (CPM-led LDF) and C Krishnakumar (BJP-led NDA).

Meanwhile, a day after Samastha’s newspapers published a CPM-sponsored advertisement featuring screenshots of Sandeep Varier’s old social media posts, the former BJP leader met Samastha leader Syed Jifri Muthukoya Thangal on Wednesday. While Left leaders like AK Balan slammed the move, IUML's PK Kunhalikutty mocked CPM's 'obsession with Sandeep Varier's switch from BJP to Congress.'

In response to the criticisms, CPM leader AK Balan clarified that referring to Sandeep Varier as "crystal clear" was in response to a question about P Sarin, not Sandeep. He also pointed out that Sandeep, who had made derogatory remarks about religious minorities, could not be equated with "crystal clear." Balan further added that even all the perfumes from Arabia could not cleanse him. Opposition Leader VD Satheesan accused the CPM of damaging Kerala's secular fabric with its provocative advertisements in newspapers.