Nilambur, June 2
The battle lines have been drawn for the June 19 by-election in the Nilambur assembly constituency in Kerala’s Malappuram district.
While technically a quadrangular contest, the real fight is clearly between the ruling CPI(M) - led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF).
The Congress has fielded Aryadan Shoukath, son of veteran leader Aryadan Mohammed, while the CPI(M) has brought in its prominent youth leader and former MLA M. Swaraj.
The BJP has nominated political turncoat Mohan George, and also in the fray is two-time legislator P.V. Anvar, who had resigned in January after falling out with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Anvar had pledged full support to the UDF following his dramatic exit and had vowed not to contest the by-election.
However, in a complete U-turn, he filed his nomination on Monday after his efforts to rejoin the UDF failed, particularly due to stiff resistance from Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan.
Despite lobbying from the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), the second-largest UDF ally, Satheesan stood firm.
Anvar, who has now joined the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), lashed out at UDF leaders before filing his nomination.
“If Satheesan, Shoukath, and Minister Riyas don’t behave, just wait -- I’ll reveal a lot. I’ve sought one of two symbols -- if not the AITC’s, it will be another. Satheesan acts like Hitler, and even the IUML is upset with his attitude,” Anvar told reporters.
In the 2016 election, Anvar defeated the Congress candidate by 11,504 votes. However, his margin narrowed down in 2021, when he scraped through with just 2,700 votes.
The BJP, which received 8,595 votes in 2021, has fielded Mohan George -- who was given party membership just a day before his candidature was announced. In 2016, the BJP-backed BDJS candidate had secured 12,284 votes.
For the CPI-M, this bypoll is a must-win. Chief Minister Vijayan launched the party’s campaign on Sunday and is expected to return for another round of campaigning from June 13.
Notably, this is the first time since 2006 that the CPI-M is fielding its own candidate in Nilambur.
Nilambur has long been a Congress stronghold, with Aryadan Mohammed winning the seat eight times between 1965 and 2011.
After filing his nomination, Swaraj said the CPI-M’s campaign launch led by CM Vijayan was “electrifying,” adding that people see this by-election as a curtain-raiser for the 2026 assembly polls, in which the Left hopes to secure a third straight term.
Although Anvar and George claim the contest will be close, few doubt that the real battle is between Shoukath and Swaraj.
With Monday marking the close of nominations, attention now turns to how many dummy candidates enter the fray -- a common feature in Kerala elections.
