Overview
- Rajan J Pallan, 63, a businessman and former Thrissur mayor, is running for Congress with a pitch to fix traffic snarls and waste management.
- He faces CPI’s Alankode Leelakrishnan for the LDF and BJP’s Padmaja Venugopal for the NDA in a contest with no clear frontrunner.
- Padmaja Venugopal left Congress in March 2024, joined the BJP, and now contests Thrissur as the NDA candidate.
- Pallan disclosed assets of about ₹2.67 crore in his election affidavit, adding fresh transparency on his background as campaigning intensifies.
- Thrissur has traded hands between Congress and the CPI, with a 2021 result decided by 946 votes and a rising BJP profile after the party won the city’s Lok Sabha seat in 2024.