ThiruvananthapuramAugust 21, 2025 06:58 PM IST
First published on: Aug 21, 2025 at 06:58 PM IST
Before he quit as Kerala Youth Congress president on Thursday, MLA Rahul Mamkootathil’s star was on the rise. An articulate speaker, he was the party’s voice on prime-time TV debates.
His unceremonious exit came in the wake of an allegation from journalist-turned-actor Rini Ann George that “a young politician”, popular on TV, had sent her obscene messages and invited her to a hotel. She was believed to have been referring to Mamkootathil.
A native of Central Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district, the 35-year-old Mamkootathil became the Palakkad MLA after winning a by-election last November, necessitated by the election of incumbent legislator Shafi Parambil to the Lok Sabha.
Mamkootathil was handpicked as the Palakkad candidate despite protests from a section of the local Congress leaders. P R Sarin, who was expecting the ticket from the seat, even quit the Congress in protest.
Mamkootathil started out with the Congress student wing, Kerala Students’ Union, before becoming the Youth Congress state general secretary. His success in representing the party in TV debates led to his elevation as Youth Congress chief in a 2023 election.
Allegations that voters’ list had been rigged for the organisational election did not faze his rise, with his association with key leaders in the Kerala Congress holding Mamkootathil in good stead.
An old friend
One of the long-time friendships he has had is with Parambil, who also rose from the Youth Congress to party top ranks. Acquaintance with Parambil opened doors to senior Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly V D Satheesan for Mamkootathil.
The Palakkad Assembly seat is believed to have landed in his lap due to these connections.
Satheesan and Parambil are believed to have also helped Mamkootathil through other controversies. Like the remarks he made after the late Congress titan K Karunakaran’s daughter Padmaja Venugopal quit the party ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
He called Venugopal a “traitor” who could not be considered her “father’s daughter politically”. A section of Congress leaders complained against him, accusing him of having “insulted” the memory of Karunakaran.
During the Nilambur bypoll elections held in June, Mamkootathil courted another controversy for allegedly threatening an officer who as part of routine election checks stopped a vehicle he was travelling in along with Parambil for checking.
In the same bypoll, Mamkootathil was said to have held a secret meeting with former CPI(M)-backed legislator P V Anvar, after he had hit out against Satheesan. Mamkootathil tried to explain that he was just seeking Anvar’s support for the fight against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, but Satheesan too had termed the meeting inappropriate. The CPI(M) said the meeting showed a secret nexus between the Congress and Anvar.
Mamkootathil’s luck, however, may have finally run out. And given the latest charges, a ticket from Palakkad may be tough ask in the 2026 Kerala Assembly polls.
In her claims, Rini said she had an unpleasant experience with a young politician, who is active on TV channels and at the forefront of agitations. She alleged that the politician, whom she had befriended through social media, had sent her obscene messages and invited her to a hotel room. She claimed that several other women, including those in the Congress, had similar experiences.