Congress' Rahul Mamkootathil maintains lead in Palakkad by-election

Palakkad (Kerala): Congress-led UDF candidate Rahul Mamkootathil on Saturday extended his lead by over 15,000 votes as the counting of votes got underway in the Palakkad Assembly bypoll.

According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), Mamkootathil secured 49,509 votes after the 11th round of counting, while Krishnakumar garnered 34,210 votes. The LDF candidate, Dr P Sarin, who was in third place, received 27,926 votes.

Krishnakumar initially led the count. However, Mamkootathil gained a narrow lead of 1,425 votes in the seventh round of counting and has steadily increased his margin in the subsequent rounds.

Among the 10 candidates contesting, the main contenders are Mamkootathil from the Congress-led UDF, Krishnakumar from the BJP-led NDA, and Sarin from the CPI(M)-led LDF.

The by-election was necessitated following the resignation of Congress leader Shafi Parambil, who vacated the seat after being elected to the Lok Sabha from Vadakara in the general election this year.