Nilambur By-Election: PV Anvar Will Contest As TMC Candidate

Nilambur By-Poll: Amid uncertainty over the former Nilambur MLA whose resignation necessitated the by-election, PV Anvar has been declared as Trinamool Congress candidate. The West Bengal chief minister, Mamata Banerjee-led party, has permitted the Kerala politician to contest from Nilambur in the party’s official symbol, multiple media outlets reported. The party is likely to officially announce the decision soon.

On Saturday, Anvar had told the media that he will not contest the election because he does not have enough money to invest, after his talks with Congress-led UDF failed to be fruitful.

Read Also: LDF Announces M Swaraj As Its Candidate For Nilambur By-Election

The Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) on Friday fielded its firebrand leader M Swaraj for the upcoming Nilambur by-election scheduled for June 19 in the high-profile constituency. Anvar, the former LDF backed independent MLA, had resigned as Nilambur legislator earlier this year after raising serious allegation including the RSS influence in the ruling government’s home department.

While the Congress -led United Democratic Front (UDF) named Aryadan Shoukath, son of former minister Aryadan Muhammed, as its candidate, the BJP has fielded Mohan George for the byelection, though the saffron party have no political clout in the seat.

Read Also: PV Anvar: How A Ruling Party MLA Shook The Government And The Party

With two major fronts in the state – CPI(M)-led LDF and Congress-led UDF – fielding high-profile candidates for the by-election, the battle has taken an intense and unpredictable form, especially with the challenge posed by the former MLA Anvar as TMC candidate. Anvar is said to have strong grassroots connections in the constituency, capable of changing the whole political scenario in the constituency.

Notably, while the ruling left party tris to regain public trust after denying allegations raised by Anvar, the UDF is eyeing reresting back the seat, one of its citadels for years.