18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
Nilambur bypoll turns into an intellectual wrestling match; voters still want roads, not rhetoric
MALAPPURAM: As Nilambur heads to vote on June 19 in one of the most talked-about bypolls in Kerala, the real battle isn't just between LDF's M Swaraj and UDF's Aryadan Shoukath -- it's also between two rival camps of writers and 'cultural icons' trying to out-endorse each other.
Both candidates are widely accepted as members of Kerala's 'buji' (intellectual) circle -- well-read, well-spoken, and perhaps more likely to be found in a lit fest than a local market. The result? The campaign trail turned into something resembling a literary seminar with political banners.
The buzz began when LDF launched a campaign fronted by cultural heavyweights, wrapped under the banner "Samskarika Keralam Swarajinoppam".
In simpler terms: 'All the cultured folks are with Swaraj.'
A public meet held on June 11 featured an all-star lineup -- K R Meera, Murukan Kattakada, Benyamin, Sheela Tomy, PT Kunjumuhammed and others -- who lent their names and reputations to push for Swaraj.
