Nilambur, April 16 (NationPress) The Kerala leader of the Opposition and prominent Congress figure V.D. Satheesan asserted on Wednesday that his party is poised to secure a significant victory in the Nilambur by-elections.

“Once the election date is announced, we will promptly reveal our candidate. The Left likely anticipates our announcement, hoping to recruit someone from our ranks as their contender. We are confident of winning this by-election decisively,” stated Satheesan.

Despite the Election Commission not yet setting a date for the Nilambur assembly by-election, both traditional foes – the ruling Left and the Congress-led Opposition – claimed victory on Wednesday.

According to sources, both political camps are actively finalizing their candidates.

Interestingly, during the Palakkad Assembly by-election last year, the Left nominated dissident Congress leader Dr. Sarin, who failed to secure the Congress ticket.

However, Sarin ended up in third place behind the BJP candidate, while the Congress candidate achieved a substantial win.

The Nilambur seat became vacant following the resignation of two-time LDF-backed independent MLA P.V. Anvar in January, due to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s refusal to investigate alleged corrupt activities involving top police official M. R. Ajith Kumar and Vijayan’s political secretary P. Sasi.

Anvar, previously a staunch critic of the UDF, has now aligned with the Congress-led coalition.

Senior CPI-M legislator and Left convenor T.P. Ramakrishnan remarked on Wednesday that Nilambur voters are eager to teach the Congress-led opposition a lesson.

In response, Anvar criticized the Left, stating they are desperately searching for candidates.

“Is the CPI-M in such a difficult position that they can’t find a single party member to contest? Just wait and see the vote count. The Congress candidate will emerge victorious with the largest margin ever,” Anvar asserted.

In the 2016 Assembly elections, after Congress leader Aryadan Mohammed retired, Anvar defeated his son Aryadan Shoukath by over 10,000 votes.

Notably, since 1970, the Congress candidate has secured victories, except in 1982 when the CPI-M won in Nilambur.

Aryadan Mohammed has won an impressive eight times. In 2021, Anvar again won, defeating Congress leader V. V. Prakash by a narrow margin of 2,700 votes.

Meanwhile, the Congress party is navigating a decision between Shoukath and Malappuram district Congress candidate V.S. Joy, while the CPI-M is seeking independent candidates like retired professor Thomas Mathew, who previously contested against Aryadan Mohammed in 2011, among others.

The deadline for finalizing the electoral rolls in the constituency is April 24.

On Wednesday, the Congress party opted to delay a protest march in light of the upcoming by-election.