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PV Anvar, the former Left Democratic Front (LDF) MLA from Nilambur who later joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC), is set to contest the upcoming Nilambur by-election. Anvar, currently serving as the state convener of the TMC, will run as the party’s candidate. Speaking to the media on Sunday, June 1, he confirmed that he will file his nomination on Monday, June 2.
TMC officially announced Anvar’s candidacy and said that the decision was taken under the inspiration and guidance of TMC Chairperson Mamata Banerjee.
Anvar was first elected as the MLA from Nilambur in 2016 and was re-elected in 2021. At a press conference, he said that besides poor laborers and women, he currently has little support. “I am not the candidate; all voters in Nilambur are the candidates,” he said, appealing for widespread support.
After breaking away from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)), Anvar led the LDF but later accused Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s political secretary and MR Ajit Kumar, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Law and Order, of serious misconduct.
On October 6, he launched his own ‘social movement’ called the Democratic Movement of Kerala. He later attempted to join the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu and the Congress party but was unsuccessful. On January 10, he officially joined the TMC, and three days later, on January 13, he resigned as MLA, triggering the by-election.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) announced its candidate, advocate Mohan George, a former leader of Kerala Congress (M). This announcement came shortly after BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar confirmed that the BJP itself would not contest the Nilambur by-election.
On May 31, the CPI(M) announced senior leader and former MLA M Swaraj as the LDF candidate following a state secretariat meeting.
The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) had earlier nominated Congress leader Aryadan Shoukath, son of former minister Aryadan Muhammed. The UDF also began their election campaign earlier than the other parties.