Marking a turnaround, Alankod Lilakrishnan, a poet and cultural activist, is the CPI candidate from Thrissur for the 2026 Kerala Assembly elections.
The first time, Alankod Lilakrishnan was fielded by the Communist Party of India (CPI) as a candidate for the Kerala elections. Known in the Malayalam literary space as a poet and cultural activist, his entry marks a shift from being part of the Left movement to active politics.
Lilakrishnan is contesting from Thrissur constituency against BJP’s Padmaja Venugopal and Congress’ Rajan J Balan.
Thrissur Assembly constituency has witnessed hotly contested elections in recent years. In the 2021 Kerala Assembly elections, CPI P. Balachandran won the seat by a narrow margin of 946 votes, defeating Congress candidate Padmaja Venugopal.
Read also: Who constitutes the LDF in Kerala? Main parties, history and road to the 2026 House of Representatives elections
5 facts about Alankod Lilakrishnan
- Alankod Lilakrishnan, age 66, is a graduate of B.Com from MES Ponnani College of Calicut University, which he completed in 1981. He is a retiree by profession and has declared assets worth $2.93 crore, with no liabilities and no criminal cases as per his election affidavit.
- Alankod Lilakrishnan began his career as an official at the Kerala Gramin Bank, while also developing an early interest in literature. He began writing poems and essays during his school years and gained a general reputation as a storyteller.
- Leelakrishnan contributed to Malayalam cinema by writing stories, scripts and songs for films like Eakantham. He has also served as a judge on a poetry-based reality show mambazam, Which was broadcast On Kairali People TV.
- Lilakrishnan’s entry into active politics marked a shift from his literary and cultural work, where he entered the fray as a candidate of the Communist Party of India (CPI). He also expressed that the Left Democratic Front (LDF) will retain the Thrissur constituency in the upcoming elections.
- Thrissur Assembly constituency has witnessed shifts in political control over the years. The Congress held the seat in 2011, with Tiramil Ramakrishnan defeating CPI(M)’s P Balachandran by a margin of 16,169 votes. However, the CPII regained the constituency in 2016, when VS Sunilkumar defeated Congress candidate Padmaja Venugopal by 6,987 votes.
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