A high-voltage by-poll on the cards at Nilambur in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: Nilambur in Malappuram district of Kerala is gearing up for a high-voltage fight between the ruling CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front and the opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front in the 19 June by-poll.

For the Congress, the Nilambur battle is more significant as it is part of the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat represented by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. With the assembly polls less than a year away, the Nilambur by-poll will also be considered as a semi-final.

While the Congress will be trying to win back the seat held by party leader, the late Aryadan Mohammed, for nearly three decades from 1987 to 2016, the CPI(M) will be trying to retain the seat that the Left Front wrested in 2016 by backing independent candidate P V Anvar.

Nilambur is going to the by-poll as Anvar, who won in the 2021 polls also, quit the MLA post in January to join the Trinamool Congress following differences with the CPI(M), especially Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Anvar is now backing the Congress.

Discussions on candidate selection were already going on in the Congress, with Aryadan Mohammed's son Aryadan Shoukath and Congress district president V S Joy being the frontrunners.

In the search for an ideal candidate, the Left Front was even learnt to be considering former Indian footballer U Sharaf Ali. The football craze of Malappuram district, which even received international attention during the last FIFA World Cup, could be a reason for considering him. But there is a demand from within the party to consider a candidate from within the party.

Being a seat dominated by minority communities, especially Muslims, the BJP is yet to make much presence in the seat. There are also reports that the BJP may even keep off from the fray.

BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that the by-poll was imposed on the people owing to the vested interests of Anvar, and since the assembly polls would happen within a year, the by-poll would not make any impact. The NDA would soon decide the stand to be taken in the by-poll, he said.

The by-poll is also the first election in Kerala after Chandrasekhar took over as BJP state president.

Congress and CPI(M) leaders have already expressed high hopes in the by-poll.

Opposition leader V D Satheesan said that the resentment of the people across the state towards the LDF government would reflect in the by-poll. He also said that since Nilambur is part of the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, Priyanka Gandhi may come down for the campaign.