Nilambur by-polls early rounds: UDF leads, but Anvar shows strength

Early trends from the Nilambur assembly constituency suggest an edge for the United Democratic Front (UDF), as counting began at 8 am. The postal ballots and early rounds of EVM tallies placed the UDF ahead of rivals from the Left Democratic Front (LDF), the BJP, and independent candidate P.V. Anvar.

 

The bypoll was necessitated by the resignation of P.V. Anvar, who was an LDF-backed independent MLA. Anvar stepped down following a fallout with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

 

In the first round, the UDF secured 3,614 votes, while the LDF followed with 3,195. Anvar, contesting as an independent, made a strong showing with 1,588 votes—adding pressure on both major fronts. Of the 14 booths counted in this round, the UDF led in 13.

 

In the second round, the UDF maintained its edge in 10 out of 14 booths, but Anvar continued to carve out a significant share of votes. After two rounds, UDF candidate Shoukath held a lead of 1,368 votes.

 

The third round, also from Vazhikkadavu, showed further signs of Anvar eating into the UDF vote base. By the end of three rounds, Anvar had polled 4,119 votes, while Shoukath’s lead stood at 1,453.

 

However, as counting for Edakkara panchayat started, UDF started to have good momentum in margin. By the end of the seventh round, and Edakkara votes were counted, UDF had earned a margin of more than 5,000 votes. Notably, by the end of the seventh round, Anvar had earned more than 8,900 votes.

 

Nilambur, which has a sizeable Muslim, tribal, and settler population, has witnessed a keenly contested multipolar fight this time.

 

Counting is still underway, and the final result is expected by noon.

India