PV Anwar not to fight Nilambur bypolls after joining Trinamool Congress

PV Anwar is not okay with UDF fielding Congress leader Aryadan Shoukath from Nilambur seat

P V Anwar P V Anwar | Manorama

Nilambur MLA P.V. Anwar resigned after joining Trinamool Congress. The decision was made to avoid disqualification.

Notably, the TMC has not disclosed any details about what it offered to the LDF defector. More importantly, P.V. Anwar announced his decision not to contest from Nilambur in the byelection.

Last week, Anwar attempted a meeting spree with UDF leaders, in which he only had partial success. But one major development was that he made his intention to join the UDF fold clear. However, the Opposition leadership’s stance was to avoid making any hasty decisions.

Anwar was expelled from the Left Democratic Front (LDF) due to his public accusations against Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his administration. He alleged that the Chief Minister was protecting corrupt officials, including his political secretary and a senior police officer involved in gold smuggling. He claimed that this favoritism undermined the integrity of the party and the government, stating that Vijayan's political standing had significantly declined as a result.

Before these developments, Anwar was a self-proclaimed cyber lieutenant for Pinarayi Vijayan, aggressively attacking Vijayan’s political opponents with harsh words. He also made defamatory comments about the state and central leadership of Congress, including remarks against Rahul Gandhi and opposition leader V.D. Satheesan.

Satheesan’s measured response—that “the right decision will be taken at the right time” regarding Anwar’s case—strongly suggested that the opposition leader remains sceptical about welcoming Anwar into the UDF.

Notably, Anwar on Monday issued an apology to Satheesan for his allegation in the assembly that the latter had accepted ₹150 crore to sabotage the SilverLine project. Interestingly, Anwar claimed that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s political secretary, P. Sasi, had instructed him to make the accusation. In response, Sasi dismissed the claim as a lie and announced plans to take legal action against Anwar. While Satheesan accepted the apology, he reiterated his stance that “the right decision will be taken at the right time.”

Anwar declared “unconditional support” for the UDF in Nilambur but followed it with conditions of his own. He demanded that the UDF field Malappuram DCC president V.S. Joy as its candidate. Adding to the controversy, Anwar made disparaging remarks about KPCC general secretary and prominent Nilambur leader Aryadan Shoukath. He went a step further, stating that if Shoukath were to contest as the UDF candidate, he would “decide” whether to support the UDF at that point. Notably, Shoukath chose not to engage with Anwar’s comments, limiting his response to a confident remark that the situation in Nilambur remains favourable for the UDF.

It is clear, however, that Anwar's comments have not made a favourable impression on UDF leaders. Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala responded, "P.V. Anwar's decision to offer unconditional support to the UDF is welcome. But the party has a system in place for selecting candidates. The party will discuss it with everyone and consult key leaders from the area before making a decision based on the party’s system. This is not something that needs to be decided right now; it will be addressed at the appropriate time."

Political observers, like Adv. Jayashankar, have described Anwar’s recent move as political suicide. He noted, "A section of CPI(M) leaders and some businessmen used Anwar against Pinarayi Vijayan, only to abandon him later when they found he was no longer of use." He also criticized Anwar’s decision to offer unconditional support to the UDF, while simultaneously trying to dictate who should be the candidate. "He is nowhere. He just resigned from the MLA post, and now he’s saying that Congress must choose the person he recommends as the candidate."

While the Congress in Nilambur is grappling with internal groups, observers like Jayashankar believe that the party still holds the upper hand in the constituency in an upcoming by-election.

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