BJP is targeting the Palakkad assembly by-election next. The party firmly believes that if it tries hard enough, it will be able to capture the constituency lost by a small majority in the last assembly elections. The BJP sees the progress made in the Lok Sabha elections and the change of Shafi Parambi as positive. At the same time, the BJP has an assessment that the personal influence of Shafi Parambi in the constituency and the CPM’s cross-voting were decisive in the victory of the UDF last time. This time, whoever the UDF candidate is, he will not be able to have as much influence as Shafi Parambil in the Palakkad constituency. Although the by-elections have not been announced, candidate discussions are active in the BJP. The names of C Krishnakumar, Shobha Surendran and Sandeep Warrier were heard prominently from the BJP. But information is now coming out that the local component and the district component are interested in C Krishnakumar.
State president K Surendran also has no objection in the case of C Krishnakumar. Even though Shobha Surendran is a good leader, the Palakkad by-election will benefit C Krishnakumar, who knows the constituency closely. Although only one name came from the local level, along with C Krishnakumar, the names of Shobha Surendran and Sandeep Warrier may be submitted by the state leadership to the national leadership.
The good performance in Alappuzha constituency in the Lok Sabha elections has enhanced the image of Shobha Surendran not only in the state but also in front of the national leadership.
