The Election Commission of India (ECI), on Tuesday, June 3, rejected PV Anvar’s nomination as the Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate for the Nilambur Assembly bye-election. Anvar, a former Left Democratic Front (LDF) MLA from Nilambur who recently joined the TMC, was disqualified due to technical issues with the party's documentation. Although his nomination as a TMC candidate was rejected, the Returning Officer accepted his papers as an independent, allowing him to remain in the fray.
According to reports, the primary reason for the rejection was the delayed submission of TMC’s letter to the ECI, declaring its intention to contest in Kerala. As TMC is no longer a national party, it is required to notify the Commission within three days of the election notification if it plans to contest in a particular state. In this case, the letter was submitted on March 31, five days after the notification was issued.
Additionally, Anvar’s nomination lacked the mandatory ten proposers required for a state party contesting outside its home state. TMC lost its national party status in 2023, making these procedural requirements applicable.
TMC officially announced Anvar’s candidacy on June 1, and he filed his nomination the following day, on June 2.
Anvar was first elected as MLA from Nilambur in 2016 and re-elected in 2021. The bye-election was triggered by his resignation in January after breaking ties with the LDF.
Meanwhile, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) has fielded senior leader and former MLA M Swaraj as the LDF candidate. This marks a significant shift, as it's the first time in 58 years that the CPI(M) is directly contesting in Nilambur. Previously, the party supported independent candidates.
The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) has nominated Congress leader Aryadan Shoukath, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has fielded advocate Mohan George, a former Kerala Congress (M) leader.