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This will be a third by-election in the six-decade history of Nilambur Assembly seat.
The bye-election in Nilambur is set for June 19. (Representative/PTI)
The bye-election in Nilambur, located in the Malappuram district and part of the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, is set for June 19, with votes to be counted on June 23.
This marks the third by-election in the six-decade history of this Assembly seat.
The first two by-elections are notable. The initial one in 1967 was prompted by the assassination of sitting MLA K Kunhali, a CPM leader. It remains the only instance of an MLA being murdered in Kerala.
The second by-election occurred in 1980 following the resignation of CH Haridas, a Congress leader who had been elected as part of the CPM-led LDF. He stepped down just 10 days after being elected to allow his party colleague, Aryadan Muhammad, to become an MLA and a state minister.
For the first time in Kerala, four parties — the ruling CPI(M) and Congress, the BJP and All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) — are contesting an Assembly by-election and have also put forward prominent candidates.
PV Anvar, whose resignation in January led to the by-election, was a Trinamool candidate. Anvar, a businessman-politician, won the seat in 2016 and 2021 as an LDF-backed Independent and was known for his close ties with CM Pinarayi Vijayan. However, he began to level various allegations against the Chief Minister and his office.
After resigning, Anvar indicated support for the Congress-led UDF and claimed he would not contest the by-election. Despite his efforts to join the UDF, Congress selected his rival Aryadan Shoukath, whom Anvar had defeated in 2016, as their candidate.
Aryadan Shoukath, a politician and screenwriter, is the son of veteran Congress leader Aryadan Muhammad, who served as an MLA and minister multiple times.
M Swaraj, a former MLA and CPI(M) state secretariat member, will contest as the LDF candidate. This is the first time in 16 years that a candidate will run under the CPI(M) symbol in this seat.
On the final day for filing nominations, the BJP announced Mohan George, a lawyer newly affiliated with the party and formerly associated with Kerala Congress factions, as their candidate.
The revised final electoral roll lists 2,32,384 voters in the constituency, comprising 1,13,486 men, 1,18,889 women, and 9 transgender persons, along with 374 overseas (NRI) voters. There are 263 polling stations in the constituency.
- Location :
Thiruvananthapuram, India, India
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