The Nilambur Assembly by-election in Kerala, which was one of the most keenly contested elections in recent history, ended on Monday with Congress candidate Aryadan Shoukath handing a decisive win with a margin of 11,077 votes over his closest rival.
Shoukath polled 77,737 votes, much larger than the count for CPI(M)'s M. Swaraj, who polled 66,660. Independent candidate P.V. Anvar had 19,760 votes, and BJP's Mohan George had 8,648 votes.
What stood out in this election was Shoukath’s impressive performance in regions traditionally dominated by the CPI(M)-led Left alliance, including the polling booth of Swaraj himself, where the Left candidate was found lagging.
Swaraj, a prominent member of the CPI(M)'s State Secretariat, suffered a rare setback—marking the first time in nearly three decades that a member from this influential body has lost a by-election.
While the Ex-President of India Pratibha Devisingh Patil cast her vote, P.V. Anvar, the former MLA whose resignation led to this election, surprised everyone. People had expected him to get hardly 5,000 votes, but he polled almost four times that amount. Anvar had resigned in January after a rift with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Moved Shoukath, hugging his aged mother after the victory, paid his respects to his father, old warhorse Aryadan Mohammed. "My father (Aryadan Mohammed) witnessed Congress losing the Nilambur seat twice during his lifetime and was sad that he couldn't win it. Now his spirit will rejoice," he added, his eyes welling up with tears.
Aryadan Mohammed had a seasoned political life in Nilambur, having been elected from the constituency eight times and losing three times. He retired from politics in 2016 and died in 2022.
Shoukath dedicated the win to Nilambur people and stressed the importance of the result. "We were anticipating a margin of more than 10,000. This is a win for Nilambur people and a judgment against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan,. the takeover has begun from Nilambur," he said, further adding, "I attribute this win to all citizens who voted for me and the whole team of the Congress-led UDF."
When questioned regarding Anvar's vote percentage, Shoukath replied assertively, "Nothing out of the ordinary has occurred because it has gone precisely the way we had written it."
On the other hand, Swaraj welcomed the verdict graciously and expressed his good wishes. "It was a political election, and we did the best that we could and we did our job of explaining to the electorate the work done by the Left government. We will keep on working for the people. I do not think this is a vote against the Left government," he said.
AICC general secretary (Organisation) K.C. Venugopal, who worked hard in Nilambur, interpreted the result as a bigger political indication. "In the past four by-elections (since 2021) and even when we lost Chelakkara, we gained votes. At Nilambur, we have taken back this seat, and this is an indication of the huge anti-incumbency against Vijayan."
Elder Congress leader A.K. Antony, who is a close aide of Aryadan Mohammed, reflected this feeling. "I thank the people and the whole UDF group.My beloved friend Mohammed's son has taken back Nilambur. Now with this loss, the judgment is clear that Vijayan's rule is a caretaker one and from now it's all a matter of time before the Congress-led UDF is in power again," stated Antony.
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