He was a follower of the
Students' Islamic Movement of India, leader as a student and a chairman, then joined the
Muslim Students Federation, the students’ wing of the
Indian Union Muslim League. He was ousted from the youth wing of IUML following differences with the leadership.
P. K. Kunhalikutty. In 2011 he was elected from Thavanoor constituency, defeating V. V. Prakash of
Indian National Congress by a margin of 6,854 votes. In 2016 he was reelected from Thavanoor, with a majority of 17,064, against P. Ifthiquarudheen of Indian National Congress. Jaleel had come under fire after being accused of nepotism by
P.K.Firos of
Indian Union Muslim League over the appointment of his cousin as the general manager of Kerala State Minorities Development Finance Corporation (KSMDFC). Kerala High Court had dismissed the plea regarding the same on 11 July 2019 and criticised the political agendas behind the petition by Firos. Jaleel was accused of links to the
2020 Kerala gold smuggling case and was questioned by
Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the
National Investigation Agency (NIA). K T Jaleel resigned four days after a state anti-corruption ombudsman declared him to be guilty of “favouritism and nepotism”. K T Jaleel was elected from the constituency Thavanoor in Malapuram defeating Firos Kunamparambil a charity worker with a vote margin of 2,564 Votes in 2021 Kerala Assembly Election. ==Positions held==