Overview

• The Nilambur by-election campaign wrapped up on June 17 with four candidates—CPI(M)’s M. Swaraj, Congress’s Aryadan Shoukath, BJP’s Mohan George and independent P.V. Anvar—set for voting on June 19.
• The UDF’s acceptance of backing from the Jamaat-e-Islami-aligned Welfare Party of India dominated final rallies and drew relentless CPI(M) criticism over alleged communal polarisation.
• Rival candidates debated human-wildlife conflict in forest-fringe farmlands, delays in welfare pension payments and the stalled LIFE housing mission as vote-driving issues.
• The UDF touted the by-election as a bellwether for the 2026 Assembly polls, with Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan predicting a 15,000-vote victory margin for Aryadan Shoukath.
• CPI(M) Politburo member A. Vijayaraghavan warned that the UDF’s Jamaat ties would backfire, and both major fronts dismissed the BJP’s and independent bids as unlikely to sway the outcome.