Nilambur byelection evolves into a high-profile four-cornered electoral battle
The byelection to elect a legislator to represent the Nilambur Assembly constituency in the Malappuram district, with barely seven months remaining in the incumbent Left Democratic Front (LDF) government's term, evolved into a high-profile four-cornered electoral battle on Sunday (June 1, 2025).
Political theatre, last-minute switching of sides, and the entry of unexpected candidates marked the hectic day, with the Election Commission's last date for filing nominations expiring on Monday (June 2).
The LDF and the Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) had put their cards on the table last week by fielding Communist Party of India (Marxist) State committee member M. Swaraj and Congress leader Aryadan Shoukath as their candidates, respectively.
The two-term LDF-backed Independent MLA from Nilambur and the present All India Trinamool Congress State convenor, P.V. Anvar, whose acrimonious parting of ways with the ruling front precipitated the byelection, declared his candidature in the bypoll.
Mr. Anvar had attempted to tag the Trinamool with the Congress-led UDF since joining West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's party in January.
Aspiring for a berth in the Opposition alliance, Mr. Anvar initially ruled out contesting the bypoll. He became a fixture at UDF rallies, playing the role of an LDF insider-turned whistleblower against Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
However, M. Anvar's relationship with the UDF soured at the last minute after he aired scepticism about Mr. Shaukath's winnability. Earlier, he had discomfited the UDF leadership by attempting to influence candidate selection by prematurely backing V. Joy, a local Congress leader from the Christian settler farmer community, a significant electoral bloc in the Nilambur Assembly constituency.
Mr. Anvar singled out the Leader of the Opposition, V.D. Satheesan, for not billeting him in the UDF. The UDF denied speculation that Mr. Anvar's candidature had injected a measure of variability into the electoral calculus of the Opposition.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party, which initially viewed the bypoll as insignificant, belatedly changed tack and fielded Mohan George, a Kerala Congress leader aligned with the UDF, as its candidate in Nilambur.
The BJP recognised it could ill-afford to remain on the sidelines in an arguably pivotal byelection, widely regarded as an approximate bellwether of Kerala's voting behaviour ahead of the 2026 Assembly election.
The LDF weaponised Mr. George's 'shift in allegiance' to push its electoral talking point in the predominantly Muslim Nilambur constituency, stating that the UDF leaders' secular credentials were suspect and that they were increasingly vulnerable to poaching by the BJP.
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