Palakkad: Initial trends at 10 am show a close fight between the NDA and UDF in Palakkad assembly constituency, with Rahul Mamkootathil taking lead after trailing behind in the first hour of the counting. During the initial stage, C Krishnakumar of BJP took the lead and consistently raised it giving jitters to the UDF camp. As of now, Rahul leads by 1228 votes. 

At one stage, giving UDF camps a shock in the beginning, BJP candidate C. Krishnakumar led by 4,127 votes. The bypoll in Palakkad is being described as one of the most keenly contested elections in Kerala's history, with both fronts engaged in fierce competition, using all available resources — at times even resorting to unorthodox tactics, which have raised eyebrows among the public.

With a clear edge in the Palakkad municipal area, BJP believes they can tilt the tables in their favour, this time. They argue that the trend is working in their direction, especially as the bypoll was triggered by the Congress after sitting MLA Shafi Parambil resigned to contest the Lok Sabha election in Vadakara.

Though it is too early to predict the outcome, the battle remains intense. It is expected that whoever wins, the margin of victory will likely be under 5,000 votes, or even smaller. LDF candidate P. Sarin is closely trailing the frontrunners, Congress candidate Rahul Mamkootathil and Krishnakumar but it seems unlikely he will surpass them in the race.