Thiruvananthapuram: Amid mounting pressure from the LDF and the BJP and even from a section of leaders within the party, the Congress on Monday suspended Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkootathil from its primary membership for six months after facing multiple allegations of sexual misconduct.
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief Sunny Joseph announced the suspension and asserted there was no precedent of a leader resigning from an MLA post, though many leaders in other parties faced serious allegations.
Mamkootathil, Joseph said, set an example by stepping down from the Youth Congress post following the allegations. “But Congress unanimously thought and decided to suspend him as we respect the sentiment of women and we stand for the self-respect of the survivors,” he said, adding that Mamkootathil will also not retain the Congress’ legislative assembly membership.
The Congress legislator had already stepped down from the post of State Youth Congress president after multiple allegations of sexual misconduct against him. A first-time MLA, Mamkootathil was elected from Palakkad in November 2024 in a bypoll after the seat fell vacant when incumbent MLA Shafi Parambil was elected to the Lok Sabha from Vadakara.
The party will soon decide, during the parliamentary party meeting, whether the suspended MLA will be seated along with other UDF legislators in the next Assembly session, a senior Congress leader told ThePrint.
“We are also probing the matter internally, including the authenticity of the audio clips. Based on that, a decision regarding his future in the party will be taken and he will have to comply,” the leader said.
Multiple persons, including a transwoman, have accused the Palakkad MLA of sexual misconduct. Though the party maintains that there are no official complaints, audio of alleged interactions surfaced on social media, including one in which Mamkootathil reportedly pressured a woman to undergo an abortion.
The Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took up the matter nationally to demand the resignation of the Palakkad MLA. Several Congress leaders, including Thrikkakara MLA Uma Thomas, too, openly demanded his resignation.
Senior Congress leader K. Muraleedharan said the decision to suspend was taken as the party understood the seriousness of the matter. He added that Mamkootathil will no longer enjoy the protection that a party member usually receives.
“This should not be considered the final step. Depending on further responses and complaints, the party will naturally move to a third stage of action,” Muraleedharan said.
The Congress maintained that the BJP and the LDF have no moral grounds to criticise the Congress on the matter, as no political party has taken such a strong step against an accused representative before.
“He (Mamkootathil) was made a candidate by the Congress and by the UDF. If both say that they don’t want to be with him anymore, then Mamkootathil must decide whether to hold on or step down,” Muraleedharan said.
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A test before the polls
Notably, the controversy comes at a time when Kerala is headed for the crucial local body elections and assembly polls within a year. The local body polls are expected before the year-end and the Assembly elections before next May.
His resignation will also lead to another bypoll just ahead of the assembly elections, when the Congress is preparing to capitalise on anti-incumbency sentiment against the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government, which has been in power since 2016.
A bypoll in Palakkad would also give Congress’s opponents, especially the BJP, which has strong machinery in the constituency, a chance to win. Since 2021, Kerala has held five bypolls, of which four were won by the UDF, including the latest Nilambur bypoll in June.
“We have no fear of by-polls. In Palakkad, the contest is between the UDF and the BJP. So, we don’t fear defeat. But the issue here is not a by-election. When there are serious allegations against an MLA, the party cannot simply ignore them. That is why action has been taken,” Muraleedharan said,
State-based political analyst Joseph C. Mathew said the controversy erupted just as the Congress had an advantage due to anti-incumbency sentiment and changing perceptions of the party’s national leadership, boosted by the Voter Adhikar Yatra in Bihar.
“I don’t think the issue will have much impact after a while. I don’t expect legal consequences either. But the controversy gave opponents an argument against the Congress when it had the upper hand in the upcoming polls,” he said, adding that Mamkootathil’s resignation would have been a better choice for the party to stop attacks from both the CPI(M) and the BJP.
“But if the BJP wins the Palakkad bypoll, the Left will campaign as if the Congress helped the BJP to gain a seat in the Assembly, which will put the Congress on its back foot,” he explained.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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