United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate Aryadan Shoukath is leading by 10,482 votes in the Nilambur Assembly by-election in Kerala’s Malappuram district after 16 rounds of counting, according to the Election Commission’s latest trends.
As Shoukath’s lead widened, celebrations erupted outside the counting centre, with Congress workers expressing confidence in an impending victory.
Kerala Congress President Sunny Joseph stated, “In Nilambur, the UDF is gaining a comfortable majority. This is exactly what we had anticipated. We are fully confident of winning this election.”
The bypoll was necessitated following the resignation of LDF-backed independent MLA PV Anvar, who subsequently joined the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC).
The key candidates in Nilambur include Aryadan Shoukath (UDF), M Swaraj (LDF), and Adv. Mohan George (BJP).
Updates from Other By-Election Constituencies:
- Ludhiana West (Punjab): AAP’s Sanjeev Arora leads by 2,482 votes over Congress’s Bharat Bhushan Ashu. BJP’s Jiwan Gupta trails in third. The seat fell vacant following the death of AAP MLA Gurpreet Gogi.
- Kaliganj (West Bengal): TMC’s Alifa Ahmed holds a lead of 2,715 votes over Congress’s Kabil Uddin Shaikh. BJP’s Ashish Ghosh is in third place. The bypoll was held after the demise of TMC leader Nasiruddin Ahmed.
- Visavadar (Gujarat): BJP’s Kirit Patel leads by 150 votes over AAP’s Gopal Italia. Congress candidate Nitin Ranpariya is third. The seat became vacant after Bhayani Bhupendrabhai Gandubhai’s resignation.
- Kadi (Gujarat): BJP’s Rajendra Chavda leads by 5,752 votes over Congress’s Ramesh Chavda. AAP’s Jagdish Chavda is trailing in third. The by-election was held following the death of sitting MLA Karsanbhai Punjabhai Solanki.
Counting is still underway across all five constituencies, with final results expected later today.