Aryadan Shoukath, UDF's Nilambur candidate for the Kerala Assembly polls 2026, expressed strong confidence in victory, citing a massive anti-incumbency wave against the LDF government and his own developmental work over the last eight months.
UDF Candidate Confident of Victory in Nilambur
Aryadan Shoukath, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) alliance candidate for Nilambur for the Kerala Assembly elections 2026, expressed strong confidence for victory, claiming that there is a massive anti-incumbency wave against the LDF government in the constituency.
Highlighting his recent performance and the UDF's success in the Nilambur by-election last year, where he defeated Left Democratic Front's (LDF) M Swaraj of CPI(M) by a large margin of 11,077 votes, Shoukath stated, "In Nilambur, all the factors are very favourable for us, especially for UDF and for me also. The last by-election was just eight months back, and we got a victorious margin of votes. For the last two times, this constituency has been influenced by the LDF, and the MLA was an LDF MLA."
Shoukath further emphasised that his eight-month tenure following the by-election has been dedicated to local progress. "Now, the situation is very favourable because there is a mass anti-incumbency factor against the LDF government. In Nilambur for the last eight months, I have done much developmental work," he remarked, predicting an increased victory margin in the upcoming polls. "All the people of Nilambur are convinced about my performance, and I am expecting more than 20 thousand leads in this constituency," he said, claiming that the incumbent LDF government "has totally ignored the Nilambur constituency" in the last decade.
Congress Announces Key Candidates
On Tuesday, Shoukath was announced as one of the 55 candidates by Congress for the Kerala Assembly elections, scheduled for April 9. The counting of votes is scheduled to take place on May 4. The party has fielded Kerala Congress Committee President Sunny Joseph from the Peravoor seat. Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan has been fielded from the Paravur seat. K Muraleedharan, former MP and son of veteran Congress leader and former Chief Minister of Kerala and former Union Minister of Industry K Karunakaran from the Vattiyoorkavu seat.
Kerala's Political Landscape
The main electoral contest in the State is expected between the Left Democratic Front (LDF), led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and the United Democratic Front (UDF), led by the Indian National Congress. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by the Bharatiya Janata Party, is also in the fray for the Assembly polls. The tenure of the current assembly is scheduled to end on May 23, 2026.
Past Election Results
In the previous Kerala Assembly election in 2021, the incumbent LDF retained power with 99 seats, marking the first time since 1977 that a ruling alliance secured consecutive terms in the state. The UDF won 41 seats, while the NDA saw a decline in vote share and lost its only seat in the Assembly.
The 2016 Assembly elections had also seen the LDF come to power, winning 77 seats with a vote share of 34.8 per cent. The UDF secured 47 seats with 38.2 per cent of the votes, reflecting a closely contested political environment at the time. A comparison between the two elections shows a consolidation of support for the LDF between 2016 and 2021, with the alliance increasing its seat tally by 17 seats. The UDF, meanwhile, saw its representation in the Assembly decline from 47 seats in 2016 to 40 seats in 2021. (ANI)
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