The byelection to the Puthuppally assembly constituency in Kottayam will be held on September 5, the Election Commission of India has declared.
The bypoll was necessitated due to the demise of the sitting MLA and former two-time Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on July 18.
The date for submitting nomination papers is August 17.
With less than a month for the election to the seat held by the Congress for the past several decades, the code of conduct has already been declared, the election commissions's notification said.
The results of the election would be declared on September 8.
Oommen Chandy represented Puthuppally in the Kerala legislative assembly for 53 years. The most likely probable candidate for the UDF in the constituency is Chandy Oommen, the late chief minister's son, according to a source close to the development.
That said, with the LDF holding fort in six out of eight panchayats in Puthuppally, it is indeed a challenge for the incumbent party.
Reports, meanwhile, indicated the LDF may field Jaick C Thomas, a two-time contestant who stood against Chandy and significantly reduced the late leader's victory margin from 27,000-odd votes in 2016 to 9,000-odd votes in 2019. Grapevine is the BJP may field newly inducted party member and general secretary Anil K Antony as their contestant in the much-awaited bypoll.
Meantime, the election commission has also decided to hold byelections alongside Puthuppally, Kerala in six other assembly constituencies spread across the five states of Jharkhand, Tripura, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
