Kochi: Congress on Monday named Aryadan Shoukath as the UDF candidate for the Nilambur bypoll, disregarding protests by former MLA and Trinamool Congress leader PV Anvar, whose resignation necessitated the stop-gap election.

AICC announced Shoukath's candidature after KPCC forwarded his name following a meeting of top leaders in Kochi. The letter, signed by general secretary KC Venugopal, said that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had approved Shoukath's candidature for the byelection. Shoukath is the son of the late Minister Arayadan Mohammed. 

Talking to the media in Malappuram, Shoukath said he was humbled by the Congress' decision to name him the candidate. He said he would work to win back the constituency that the front lost for two consecutive terms. He said he would work with everyone to restore the development that his father, Aryadan Mohammed, started in Nilambur. 

Malappuram DCC president VS Joy, who was thought to have also objected to Shoukath's candidature, congratulated the UDF Candidate in a Facebook post.

Soon after the candidate was elected, Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan exuded confidence that the UDF would win the bypoll by a thumping majority. The Congress leader dodged questions on the purported rebellion put up by Anvar, though he said he expects Anvar to be a part of the UDF campaign in Nilambur.

"We have already made it clear that Anvar will be made a part of the UDF. How it could be done will be announced later," Satheesan, who is also the UDF chairman, said.

KPCC president Sunny Joseph and UDF convenor Adoor Prakash also echoed this position. The top leaders said discussions will be held with Anvar if necessary. Prakash said that Anvar's support is also needed for the UDF.

Anvar had earlier expressed his displeasure with the Congress leader's candidature. “I will stand with even the devil to defeat Pinarayi, but the devil must be a good one,” he had said.

Nonetheless, it was Anvar's domineering ways that seems to have tilted the scales in Shoukath's favour. Right from the time he resigned in January, the former Nilambur MLA had openly canvassed for V S Joy, the Malappuram DCC president, as the UDF candidate in Nilambur. 

But Anvar did what the district Congress workers disapproved of. Beyond expressing his liking for a particular candidate, Anvar had also demonstrated his dislike for Shoukath. Even Congress workers who rooted for Joy found this abhorrent. 

For Congress workers in the constituency, Anvar was both the turncoat and the chief political adversary for over a decade. He was the former Congressman the CPM had used as an independent to wrest the Nilambur seat in 2016. Then, it was Shoukath he had defeated by a fairly large margin of 11,504 votes.

There was also a thinking that it would weaken the party in the eyes of the voter if it came across as eager to please Anvar. A section of the Congress led by opposition leader V D Satheesan had argued that more value than is necessary should not be attached to Anvar. 

From 11,500-plus votes in 2016, Anvar's victory margin had shrunk to 2700 in 2021. Congress insiders saw in this a sign of Anvar's diminishing influence. "If we are perceived as bowing to his demands, only Anvar would benefit. We did not want him to prosper at the Congress's expense," a senior Congress leader in Malappuram said. 

In a sense, Anvar's imprudent attempts to show that he is the boss in Nilambur have unified the district Congress. There is also a thinking in the Congress that even Anvar is aware that only a Congress victory in the byelection will keep him alive in politics. "A Shoukath victory is the only way Anvar can at least claim some influence for himself in the constituency," the Congress leader said.

On Sunday, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the schedule of byelections in five assembly constituencies of Kerala, Gujarat, Punjab and West Bengal. 

The bypoll was necessitated by Anvar's resignation. He won as an LDF-backed independent candidate from Nilambur in the 2021 assembly elections but had a fallout with the CPM and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.