Chances of Palakkad by-election slim even if Rahul Mamkootathil resigns

PALAKKAD: There is little chance of a by-election in Palakkad even if Rahul Mamkootathil resigns as MLA. The Congress has sought legal advice in this regard.

The current provision is that a by-election must be held in that constituency within six months if a representative resigns, becomes disqualified or dies. However, Section 151A of the Representation of the People Act also stipulates that the House must have a period of one year or more to hold an election. The term of the current Assembly in Kerala is till May 23. There are only nine months left for the term to expire. Experts are of the opinion that by-elections are therefore not possible.

The commission did not hold by-elections in constituencies like Ambala, Pune, Chandrapur and Ghazipur, which fell vacant in a similar manner before the last Lok Sabha elections. Even if it is decided to hold a by-election in Palakkad, a by-election will be needed in Peerumedu too in the wake of the death of Peerumedu MLA Vazhoor Soman. The BJP has also made it clear that it will not demand a by-election if Rahul resigns. With the assembly elections coming up, the party leadership is of the view that another by-election is unnecessary.

Rahul Mamkootathil won by a margin of 18,840 votes over the BJP in the Palakkad by-election held last November. The BJP is ruling the Palakkad municipality for the second consecutive term. The party has 28 councillors in the 52-member municipality. However, the party lost votes in the by-election, including in the strongholds within the municipality limits. In the municipality, where Metroman E Sreedharan had a lead of 6000 votes, the BJP trailed by 4590 votes. The BJP is preparing to face the local and assembly elections by resolving the problems in the organisation.