Nilambur (Kerala) [India], June 2 : National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate Michael George filed his nomination for the upcoming Nilambur by-election on Monday.
The election will be held on June 19, and the counting is scheduled for June 23.
George submitted his nomination papers to Nilambur Tehsildar MP Sindhu, who is also the Assistant Returning Officer for the by-election.
BJP Kerala President Rajeev Chandrasekhar, State Vice President Shobha Surendran were among others who accompanied the NDA candidate.
Speaking to ANI, Chandrasekhar said that for the first time, the NDA is offering an alternative to the people of Nilambur, a message about investments, jobs, and development.
"We are happy that Advocate Mohan George has been nominated as the NDA candidate for Nilambur. This is the constituency where the BJP and NDA have traditionally gone very poorly. This is clearly a time for change. People of Nilambur have two choices in front of them, one is the same old corrupt power politics of LDF and Congress, which has happened for the last 65 years. For the first time, NDA is offering a clear alternative...message of investments, jobs, prosperity and development. It is for people of Nilambur to decide what path they choose," the Kerala BJP Chief said.
The election for the Nilambur seat was necessitated after 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.
Earlier today, Anvar filed his nomination under the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) banner.
Anvar had raised corruption allegations against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's officials and claimed that he would not be contesting the bypolls, supporting the Congress candidate instead.
Talking about their candidate, a post by TMC read, "Under the inspiration and guidance of Mamata Banerjee, we are pleased to announce the All India Trinamool Congress candidate for the impending Kerala Legislative Bye-election scheduled for 19th June, 2025."
Anvar has been the Nilambur MLA since 2016, backed by the LDF in both the 2016 and 2021 assembly elections.
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.
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 Pinarai government..." Satheesan told ANI.