Poet and cultural activist Alankode Leelakrishnan enters Thrissur race as CPI candidate for 2026 Kerala assembly polls

Marking a shift, Alankode Leelakrishnan, poet and cultural activist, is the candidate for CPI from Thrissur for the 2026 Kerala Assembly elections.

Published on: Apr 24, 2026, 19:22:31 IST

By Payal Kumari

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In a first, Alankode Leelakrishnan 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.

Thrissur constituency LDF candidate Alankode Leelakrishnan during campaigning for the Kerala Assembly elections, in Thrissur (PTI)

Contesting from the Thrissur constituency, Leelakrishnan is up against the BJP’s Padmaja Venugopal and the Congress’s Rajan J. Pallan.

The Thrissur Assembly constituency has seen closely contested elections in recent years. In the 2021 Kerala Assembly elections, CPI’s P. Balachandran won the seat by a narrow margin of 946 votes, defeating Congress candidate Padmaja Venugopal.

Also Read: Who makes up Kerala’s LDF? Key parties, history, and the road to the 2026 assembly elections

5 Facts about Alankode Leelakrishnan

Alankode Leelakrishnan, aged 66, is a graduate with a B.Com degree from MES Ponnani College under Calicut University, completed in 1981. A pensioner by profession, he has declared assets worth ₹2.93 crore, with no liabilities and no criminal cases as per his election affidavit.
Alankode Leelakrishnan began his career as an officer with Kerala Gramin Bank, while also developing an early interest in literature. He started writing poems and articles during his school years and first gained public recognition as a storyteller.
Leelakrishnan has contributed to Malayalam cinema by writing stories, scripts, and songs for films such as Ekantham. He has also served as a judge on the poetry-based reality show Mambazham, which aired on Kairali People TV.
Leelakrishnan’s entry into active politics marks a shift from his literary and cultural work, as he stepped into the fray as a candidate of the Communist Party of India (CPI). He has also expressed that the Left Democratic Front (LDF) will retain the Thrissur constituency in the upcoming election.
The Thrissur Assembly constituency has seen shifts in political control over the years. The Congress held the seat in 2011, with Therambil Ramakrishnan defeating CPI’s P. Balachandran by a margin of 16,169 votes. However, the CPI regained the constituency in 2016, when V.S. Sunilkumar won against Congress candidate Padmaja Venugopal by 6,987 votes.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Payal Kumari
Payal is a budding journalist currently pursuing her passion for storytelling at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication. She has always loved writing and reading, and over time, these interests grew into a strong desire to tell stories that people can connect with. This is what led her to choose journalism and content writing as a career. She has interned with Prabhat Khabar, where she worked with the social media team. During her internship, she created content for different platforms and learned how to write in a clear and engaging way for a wide audience. This experience helped her understand how digital content works and improved her writing skills. Payal is always looking to learn and grow as a writer. She is open to exploring different kinds of stories and wants to keep getting better with each piece she writes. Outside of her work and studies, she is an avid reader. She enjoys reading all kinds of books, especially fiction and fantasy, and loves getting lost in different worlds and characters. Reading has always been a big part of her life and continues to inspire her writing. She is excited to keep learning, writing, and discovering where her journey in journalism takes her.Read More

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