MALAPPURAM: The Trinamool leadership said that they will field P V Anvar in the Nilambur assembly constituency for the bypolls to be held on June 19. Trinamool has made it clear that Anvar will contest if the UDF does not inform their decision on the demands raised by Anvar within two days. It has been more than five months since the Trinamool Congress sent a letter requesting to make them part of the UDF. However, Trinamool Congress leaders alleged that the UDF has not yet taken a decision on this matter.

KPCC general secretary Aryadan Shoukath was announced as the UDF candidate in Nilambur the other day. However, Anvar’s stand is that he will not accept Shoukath as the UDF candidate. Anvar said the people of Nilambur are not interested in Aryadan, whom the CPM tried to field as an independent candidate. The statement that would support any candidate proposed by the UDF does not mean that anyone can contest. A candidate who has the potential to win and is associated with the people should be fielded. Will watch for two days on how the people of Nilambur accept Shaukath's candidature. Anvar clarified that he will decide on further steps after that.

Aryadan Shoukath promised to wrest back Nilambur from the LDF. He also faces the challenge of consolidating the influence his father Aryadan Muhammed had in Nilambur for three and a half years. Aryadan, a Congress candidate had lost to P V Anvar, who contested as an LDF candidate in the 2016 assembly elections. Anvar had defeated Congress' V V Prakash in 2021 elections as well. Anvar resigned as an MLA in 2024. His supporters claim that Anvar still has a clear influence in Nilambur. However, if Shoukath wrests back Nilambur this time, the constituency will then be in his hands. With this, Anvar will lose Nilambur forever and this may also end his political career.

If V S Joy is fielded in Nilambur as his nominee, Anvar will be able to rein in from behind. Anvar’s calculation is that that he could win Nilambur again by giving Joy some other constituency in the assembly elections to be held within a year. Political observers believe that Anvar is opposing Shoukath with this in mind.

The UDF did not take Anvar's bargain for DCC President VS Joy at face value either. Joy had the support of opposition leader V D Satheesan. However, it is assessed that the recent change in the KPCC leadership has been a setback for Joy. There is also a strong demand in the party that Joy, who is an excellent DCC president, should coordinate the elections.