The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state leadership has sought an explanation from Palakkad Municipal Corporation Chairperson Prameela Sasidharan regarding her participation in an event on Sunday where Rahul Mamkootathil, an MLA facing sexual abuse allegations, was the chief guest.
Palakkad municipality is controlled by BJP. Its chairman attended the stadium bypass inauguration event with MLAs at a time when the BJP vowed to oppose and boycott Mr. Mamkootathil.
Ms. Sasidharan’s action and the developments that followed exposed the discontent brewing in the BJP in Palakkad. There appears to be a vertical split in the party with one section focused on the chairman.
Resignation sought
BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar expressed displeasure over Ms. Sasidharan’s action. BJP state general secretary C. Krishnakumar and district president Prasanth Sivan demanded that action be taken against Ms. Sasidharan. In the district committee of the party, Mr. Krishnakumar reportedly raised strong objections to the chairperson’s action and demanded her resignation and an apology to the media.
But the party leadership is being warned by some leaders against taking strict action as it could negatively affect the BJP’s prospects in the upcoming municipal elections.
Meanwhile, the Congress has launched efforts to exploit internal fissures in the BJP by sending an overture to Ms. Sasidharan. The Palakkad block committee of the Congress invited her to a party. But Ms Sasidharan declined the Congress invitation. She said she attended the program because it was a development-related function.
The chairperson explained that she attended the program at the invitation of the council and was not barred by the BJP from attending Mr. Mamkootathila’s function.
She said she was willing to apologize if attending the festivities was a mistake. Reiterating that she would never join the Congress, Ms. Sasidharan said she was happy to accept whatever steps the party took.
Ms. Sasidharan said that as Chairperson, she worked for the welfare and development of the people of Palakkad.
According to the BJP district leadership, her act has embarrassed the party in Palakkad. However, former BJP national executive member N. Sivarajan supported Ms. Sasidharan, saying that she was not aware of Mr. Mamkootathil’s presence at the event.
A few days ago, Ms. Sasidharan had complained to the BJP leadership about her opponents for shunning her in a function in the ward represented by Mr. Krishnakumar’s wife Mini, in which MP PT Usha was the chief guest.
Sources suggest that Ms. Sasidharan’s participation in Mr. Mamkootathila’s function was a calculated countermeasure against the BJP faction that opposed her.
Published – 27 Oct 2025 20:23 IST
