Major political fronts in Kerala demand to reschedule Palakkad bypolls

Congress, CPI(M), and BJP seek postponement of the byelection in the Palakkad Assembly constituency as it is coinciding with the Kalpathy Rathotsavam

The three major political fronts on Tuesday demanded rescheduling of the byelection in the Palakkad Assembly constituency to another date as it coincides with the Kalpathy Rathotsavam festival. The Election Commission has decided to hold byelections in the Palakkad and Chelakkara assembly constituencies as well as the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency on November 13.

Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan wrote a letter to the Election Commission (EC) requesting it to reschedule the byelection as the occasion has been commemorated for generations, and devotees flood the streets in large numbers. Holding bypolls during the festival would cause significant bottlenecks for the people of Palakkad who consider the festival prestigious, he said.

Left Democratic Front (LDF) convener T.P. Ramakrishnan said that the EC should consider rescheduling as the current date of the byelection coincides with the festival.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State president K. Surendran also made a similar request to the Election Commission to postpone the byelection in Palakkad to November 20 in view of the Kalpathy Rathotsavam. Mr. Surendran said that the Kalpathy festival would affect the voter participation in the byelection scheduled for November 13.

With inputs from The Hindu Palakkad Bureau

Published - October 15, 2024 07:53 pm IST