The seat fell vacant following the death of former Union Minister and IUML leader E Ahamed.
Former state minister and IUML General Secretary P K Kunhalikutty is pitted against LDF candidate M B Faisal(CPI-M) and NDA nominee N Sreeprakash of BJP.
Kunhalikutty seems to be on a firm footing in Malappuram, a Muslim dominated constituency and an IUML fortress that elected Ahmed with a margin of 1.94 lakh votes in 2015.
It is for the first time that Kunhalikutty, an MLA from Vengara assembly segment, is trying his luck in Lok Sabha polls.
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Fully aware of the arduous task on hand, both the LDF candidate Faisal, who is the District president of DYFI, and Sreeprakash, BJPs district Vice President, is making unsparing efforts to re-write the electoral history of Malappuram, known as Manjeri before delimitation, that elected Ahmed seven times consecutively.
Kunhalikutty, a member of state assembly since 1982, tasted electoral defeat only in 2006 assembly poll when he his name was dragged into the 'ice cream parlour sex scandal'. A closure report in the case was filed in the trial court later by the Special Investigation Team.
The Supreme Court had in 2016 dismissed a petition from CPI(M) veteran V S Achuthanandan seeking a CBI probe into the scandal.
But, the unstinted support from the party leadership and rank and file helped Kunhalikutty to overcome the crisis.
Attacking the saffron party, Kunhalikuty seek votes to protect secularism and strengthen secular forces at the national level.
Faisal also attacks BJPand canvas votes for the protection of secularism and to isolate communal forces.
BJP highlights the achievements of BJP led NDA government at the Centre and the "anti-people" policies of Kerala government.
Small parties like SDPI and Welfare Party, that contested in 2015, had not fielded candidates this time. Both these parties got more than 50,00 votes in 2015 election.
Total electorate in the constituency is 13,12,2693, out of which 56,420 are women.
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