Triangular Contest Set in Pala Bypoll as BJP Fields N Hari Again

The Pala Assembly constituency in Kerala is heading for a three-cornered contest in the by-election on September 23, as both the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) are repeating their candidates from the 2016 election.

The candidates

The NDA has named N Hari, the BJP’s Kottayam district president. In 2016 he won 17.76 per cent of the vote, a result that surprised both the United Democratic Front (UDF) and the LDF.

The LDF has again chosen Nationalist Congress Party leader Mani C. Kappen, who will be its candidate for the fourth time. The UDF has opted for a new face, Jose Tom Pulikkunnel of the Kerala Congress (M), replacing KM Mani.

How the numbers have moved

At the last assembly election the NDA’s vote in Pala rose almost four times, from 6,359 to 24,821, in a seat regarded as a traditional UDF stronghold. The winning margin was 4,703 votes.

The trend continued in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. In the Pala assembly segment of the Kottayam seat, NDA candidate and former Union minister P.C. Thomas raised the alliance’s tally to 26,533. The LDF candidate, CPM leader VN Vasavan, managed only 33,499 votes in the segment, a fall of 20,682, as the LDF failed to increase its share.

See also: Constituencies | Communist Party of India (Marxist)

Originally published on 3 September 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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