<p>Palakkad: Voting in the by-poll for the Palakkad Assembly constituency in Kerala commenced at 7 am on Wednesday.</p>.<p>People began arriving early in the morning at the 184 polling booths across the constituency, which has over 1.9 lakh voters who will cast their votes to elect a representative from among 10 candidates.</p>.<p>Among the 10, the key contenders are Rahul Mamkootathil (Congress-led UDF), C. Krishnakumar (BJP-led NDA), and P. Sarin (CPI(M)-led LDF).</p>.Kerala left-front accused of triggering communal sentiments on Palakkad by-poll eve.<p>The by-election was necessitated after <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/congress">Congress</a> leader Shafi Parambil resigned as MLA of the constituency following his election to the Lok Sabha from Vadakara during the general elections.</p>.<p>Polling commenced amidst tight security arrangements, including the deployment of central security forces and police, along with live monitoring of the by-election process through an extensive webcasting system.</p>.<p>Of the bypolls -- for one <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/lok-sabha">Lok Sabha</a> and two Assembly seats -- scheduled in the state in November, the campaigning for the Palakkad constituency witnessed several controversies.</p>.Bypolls Live Updates | Low voter turnout in initial hours of polling across four states.<p>These included allegations of black money against the UDF candidate, BJP leader Sandeep Varier’s defection to the Congress, and the <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/cpi-m">CPI(M)</a> publishing negative advertisements in newspapers regarding Varier's inclusion in the grand old party.</p>.<p>The Palakkad constituency holds significant importance for the Congress-led UDF, not only for retaining the seat but also because their rival LDF candidate, Sarin, is the former digital media convener of the KPCC.</p>.<p>Sarin was expelled from the Congress after he criticised the party's decision to select state Youth Congress president Mamkootathil as its candidate for the Palakkad bypoll. </p>
<p>Palakkad: Voting in the by-poll for the Palakkad Assembly constituency in Kerala commenced at 7 am on Wednesday.</p>.<p>People began arriving early in the morning at the 184 polling booths across the constituency, which has over 1.9 lakh voters who will cast their votes to elect a representative from among 10 candidates.</p>.<p>Among the 10, the key contenders are Rahul Mamkootathil (Congress-led UDF), C. Krishnakumar (BJP-led NDA), and P. Sarin (CPI(M)-led LDF).</p>.Kerala left-front accused of triggering communal sentiments on Palakkad by-poll eve.<p>The by-election was necessitated after <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/congress">Congress</a> leader Shafi Parambil resigned as MLA of the constituency following his election to the Lok Sabha from Vadakara during the general elections.</p>.<p>Polling commenced amidst tight security arrangements, including the deployment of central security forces and police, along with live monitoring of the by-election process through an extensive webcasting system.</p>.<p>Of the bypolls -- for one <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/lok-sabha">Lok Sabha</a> and two Assembly seats -- scheduled in the state in November, the campaigning for the Palakkad constituency witnessed several controversies.</p>.Bypolls Live Updates | Low voter turnout in initial hours of polling across four states.<p>These included allegations of black money against the UDF candidate, BJP leader Sandeep Varier’s defection to the Congress, and the <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/cpi-m">CPI(M)</a> publishing negative advertisements in newspapers regarding Varier's inclusion in the grand old party.</p>.<p>The Palakkad constituency holds significant importance for the Congress-led UDF, not only for retaining the seat but also because their rival LDF candidate, Sarin, is the former digital media convener of the KPCC.</p>.<p>Sarin was expelled from the Congress after he criticised the party's decision to select state Youth Congress president Mamkootathil as its candidate for the Palakkad bypoll. </p>