Nilambur (Kerala), June 10
With the second round of campaigning for the Nilambur assembly by-election gaining momentum, both the traditional rival fronts in Kerala on Tuesday expressed confidence in their victory.

With the campaigning starting to peak after the Bakrid break, two star campaigners - Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for the CPI-M-led Left Democratic Front and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi for the Congress-led United Democratic Front - are arriving in Nilambur later this week.

Nilambur goes to the polls on June 19, and the principal fight is between Aryadan Shoukath of the Congress and M.Swaraj of the CPI-M, with two-time Left-backed Independent legislator P.V. Anvar, who quit in January following a major spat with Chief Minister Vijayan, and Mohan George of the BJP also in the fray.

On Tuesday morning, the state's ruling CPI-M held its state secretariat meeting near Nilambur and concluded that fielding Swaraj has changed things and they are on course to win the June 19 polls.

Likewise, Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan, who is spearheading the Congress-led UDF's campaign, said they are winning hands down.

"We are heading for a win, and we will take back Nilambur," he said.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, a row broke out with CPI-M state Secretary M.V.Govindan slamming the Congress for having an electoral tie-up with the Welfare Party, which has the backing of the Jamaat-e-Islami. Satheesan hit back at Govindan and said all know that not long ago, the Jamaat-e-Islami and the Welfare Party had supported the CPI-M.

“ When any party supports the CPI-M, then they are all secular, but when the same party supports us, then they become communal. We all know that when (E.K.) Nayanar-led Left government was at the helm of affairs, one of their achievement was putting PDP leader (Abdul Nazeer) Madani behind bars, and now the PDP is supporting the Left,” said Satheesan.

However, Govindan contended that the PDP and Jamaat-e-Islami are different.

From 1965 onwards, the Congress candidates won the Nilambur seat a record 11 times, the CPI-M twice, and a Left-supported independent candidate thrice.

Nilambur assembly constituency is part of the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, and Priyanka Gandhi secured a staggering 65,132 votes from the segment in the November bypolls, while Anvar, when contesting as a CPI-M supported candidate in 2016, won with 11,504 votes and in 2021, the margin came down to a mere 2,700 votes.

Nilambur by-election campaign gathers steam, rival fronts make victory claims