Thiruvananthapuram: With the Lok Sabha elections over in Kerala, it remains to be seen how many assembly by-elections will be held in the state. It will be clear after the counting of votes for the Lok Sabha elections on June 4 where the by-elections will be held, as five MLAs of the ruling CPI(M) and one MLA of the Congress are contesting the 2024 general elections.
Congress’s Shafi Parambil on ground
However, one thing is certain that no matter who wins in Vadakara Lok Sabha constituency, assembly by-election is certain. Two sitting MLAs, KK Shailaja of CPI(M) and Shafi Parambil of Congress, are in the fray. Shailaja represents the Mattanur assembly constituency, Parambil completed a hat-trick from Palakkad assembly constituency in the 2021 assembly elections, even though she was defeated by railway engineer and BJP candidate E Sreedharan.
The road will be cleared on June 4
Other sitting CPI(M) MLAs contesting the Lok Sabha elections include state SC/ST minister K Radhakrishnan in Alathur, V Joy from Attingal and actor-turned-politician Mukesh in Kollam. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress-led UDF won 19 seats and the CPI(M) won one seat. In such a situation, on June 4 it will become clear how many assembly by-elections will be held in Kerala.
