Palakkad Assembly seat: Congress' Mamkootathil maintains lead
Congress-led UDF candidate Rahul Mamkootathil has taken the lead in the Palakkad Assembly bypoll as vote counting continues. Mamkootathil surged ahead of BJP candidate C Krishnakumar in the seventh round of counting. The by-election was necessitated by the resignation of Congress leader Shafi Parambil, who vacated the seat after winning the Vadakara Lok Sabha constituency.