Kerala bypoll: BJP fields Mohan George in Nilambur

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party announced on Sunday that Mohan George would be its candidate for the byelection in the Nilambur Assembly constituency in Kerala. The election will be held on June 19, and the counting is scheduled for June 23. 


The election was necessitated by the resignation of PV Anvar, an LDF-backed MLA, who stepped down in January after making several allegations against the Left government in the state, including claims of RSS influence in the home department and the framing of Muslim youth in false cases. The main contest in the constituency is between United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate Aryadan Shoukath and the LDF's M Swaraj. The byelection has political significance as it is a precursor to next year's state assembly election and will test the popularity of the current government led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

With the announcement of Swaraj's candidature, the CPI(M)'s rank and file are particularly energised, as the party is fielding its own candidate in the constituency after backing independent candidates in several past elections. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate Swaraj's election convention in Nilambur today.
Meanwhile, it is not yet clear whether Anvar will contest the election or not. His relationship with the UDF soured after it announced Aryadan Shoukath, his rival in the previous election, as its candidate. He is also enraged with the UDF for not declaring his induction into the alliance.
 
On Friday, Kerala Leader of Opposition (LoP) and Congress leader VD Satheesan said that the upcoming Nilambur by-election would be treated as an opportunity to hold the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government accountable. He also confirmed that the first phase of the campaign work has been completed. "We have already launched the election campaign, and our conventions are also going on... We will take it as an opportunity to prosecute the Pinarayi government..." Satheesan told ANI. He added that preparations began a month ago and that significant voter outreach had already been achieved.

"We have completed our first round of election work and started our preparation a month ago. A total of 10,000 voters are enrolled in the election, out of which we have enrolled 8000..." he further added.