Palakkad: Former Minister and CPM leader A K Balan threw his weight behind P Sarin despite his loss in Palakkad byelection and called him a shining star. "We will continue to support and motivate Sarin. He will rise as a prominent figure within the front. No one should attempt to demotivate him," Balan told media on Sunday. 

Balan said Sarin was instrumental in increasing LDF's vote share. "The day before the elections, Sarin mentioned that he was content with being in third place. He said that if electoral setbacks were a consequence of his political stance, he would accept them with open arms. He expressed his desire to live as a communist, as part of the LDF," Balan said.

He also backed the party's strategy in Palakkad. "Clearly, being in third place posed a challenge, but to move to the first spot, we knew we had to take a firm stance, especially against the BJP and the UDF. We ran our campaign taking on these challenges and that ultimately benefitted us.

"After the 2021 assembly elections, there was a significant reduction in the vote gap between the BJP and UDF. In 2021, we were in third place, with a 13,700-vote difference from the BJP in second. In the recent Lok Sabha elections, that gap shrank to just 2,400 votes." he said.

He said the trend in this election showed the CPM was on course to beat the BJP in Palakkad. "Over four years, we’ve moved from third to second place. It is a clear indication that we’re on track to surpass the BJP and secure first place," he added.