MALAPPURAM: In a rude jolt to the ruling LDF government, the UDF candidate Aryadan Shoukath snatched the Nilambur constituency with a margin of over 11,000 votes.
The most dramatic part of the results is that P V Anwar, who left the LDF after raising serious allegations against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, garnered around 20,000 as an independent candidate.
LDF candidate and CPM state secretariat member M Swaraj could secure over 66,000 votes while Shoukath fetched around 77,000 votes. BJP candidate Mohan George secured over 6000 votes.
Shoukath maintained lead throughout the counting except in the ninth round where Swaraj got an edge of around 200 votes. UDF camp is elated over the fact that the front could make inroads into LDF strongholds including Nilambur municipality.
The UDF, however, could not perform well in Vazhikkadavu panchayat where a good majority of votes went in favour of Anwar.
The bypoll was necessitated after the resignation of Anwar, who represented the constituency twice. It was though that Anwar and UDF will fight the elections jointly, but the difference of opinion over the selection of candidate led Anwar to jump in the fray as an independent.
Anwar raised the allegation that it was opposition leader V D Satheesan who blocked his way to the UDF. There were a few rumblings in the UDF over keeping Anwar out of the front.
Stakes were high for Satheesan as he was responsible for the selection of the candidate and for keeping Anwar at bay.
Reacting to the UDF victory, IUML national general secretary P K Kunhalikutty said the result has upheld the secular face of Kerala.
"The CPM has tried every means to divide people on communal lines but the people of Nilambur rejected the campaign. It is a semi-final for the next Assembly elections", he said.
CPM state secretary M V Govindan said the victory was achieved with the support of communal forces.
"Mohan George, BJP candidate, himself had said that many of his party votes had gone to Aryadan Shoukath," he said.