Kochi: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Friday named, M Swaraj, former MLA and state secretariat member as its candidate for the upcoming by-election to the Nilambur assembly constituency in Kerala scheduled for June 19.
The decision was announced by CPI(M)’s state secretary MV Govindan, following the party’s state secretariat meeting in Thiruvananthapuram.
Swaraj, who represented the Thripunithura assembly constituency in Ernakulam district between 2016 and 2021 as a member of the legislative assembly (MLA), will take on Congress candidate Aryadan Shoukath in the bypoll. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is yet to announce its candidate.
The bye-election was necessitated after independent MLA from Nilambur PV Anvar resigned as legislator on January 13, following which the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) appointed him as the party’s state convenor in Kerala. Anvar, who had won as a Left Democratic Front (LDF)-backed Independent in 2016 and 2021 assembly elections from Nilambur in Malappuram district, broke ranks with the CPI(M)-led LDF last year over a range of issues.
Also Read: Kerala independent MLA PV Anvar resigns as legislator days after joining TMC
{{/usCountry}}Also Read: Kerala independent MLA PV Anvar resigns as legislator days after joining TMC
{{/usCountry}}Anvar and the AITC have demanded inclusion in the Congress-led UDF fold. A decision on the matter is pending.
After he was nominated by the party, Swaraj told reporters that “the votes would be cast in favour of the Left as vindication of its developmental achievements in the last nine years.”
Also Read: PV Anvar resigns as MLA, becomes TMC convener for Kerala
“A wide section of people across party lines agree today that the LDF best governs Kerala. The common people in the state are the beneficiaries of the developmental and welfare initiatives that the government has taken. They have love and trust for the government. This will reflect in Nilambur too. The stand that the CPI(M) and LDF have taken against communal forces has always been welcomed by secular voters. We are very confident about our chances,” Swaraj said.