Voting has begun in the Nilambur Assembly constituency. Aryadan Shoukath, the United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate, cast his vote at Booth No. 184 of the Government LP School at Vettikuthu in Nilambur. Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate M Swaraj voted at Mankut LP School, while voting for the by-election was also held at Ayesha Mukkatt LP School in Nilambur.
Independent candidate P V Anvar, who previously held the seat, is not contesting this time. A large number of voters turned up early in the morning. Polling is scheduled from 7 AM to 6 PM. The constituency has a total of 2,32,000 voters, including 7,787 new voters.
There are 263 polling booths set up in the constituency, including 14 identified as sensitive. Three booths have been arranged in remote tribal areas within forest regions. Home voting for 1,254 approved voters was completed on June 16.
Ten candidates are in the fray: Adv. Mohan George (NDA), Aryadan Shoukath (UDF), M Swaraj (LDF), Adv. Sadiq Naduthodi (SDPI), P V Anvar (Independent), N Jayarajan (Independent), P Radhakrishnan Namboodirippad (Independent), Vijayan (Independent), Satheesh Kumar G (Independent), and Harinarayanan (Independent).
The Nilambur constituency includes the grama panchayats of Vazhikkadavu, Edakkara, Pothukal, Moothadi, Karulai, Amarambalam, Chungathara, and the Nilambur Municipality. Tight security has been arranged at polling booths, with the Election Commission imposing a ban on mobile phones inside the booths due to possible conflict concerns.
The by-election was necessitated following the resignation of sitting MLA P V Anvar, an independent backed by the Left, due to differences with the government. In the 2021 election, Anvar won the seat with 46.9% of the vote, defeating Congress candidate V V Prakash by a margin of 2,700 votes.
Vote counting will take place on June 23.
