The mood in the state Congress and UDF has been celebratory ever since the comfortable victory in the LDF-held seat of Nilambur. Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan, termed Captain by his followers following the stunning victory of the party in the Thrikkakara, Puthupally and Palakkad byelections earlier, is no longer the sole focal point within the alliance, which he himself has realised.
Following the UDF’s victory in the three seats in 2022, the credit went to Satheesan, as he often called the shots unilaterally. In Puthupally, the open tussle between Satheesan and the then KPCC president K Sudhakaran at a press conference over who would talk first had destroyed the glow of the victory. Organisationally, too, Satheesan was accused of being arrogant to leaders.
However, Nilambur has shown that a collective effort was behind the UDF’s victory this time round. It was evident in the way Satheesan himself gave credit to ‘Team UDF’ in his press conference and corrected the media for giving him sole credit.
No ‘Satheesanism’ in Congress
What led to the scenario was the strong undercurrents in the Congress and UDF during the campaign, culminating in statements by senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, KPCC president Sunny Joseph and Muslim League supremo Panakkad Sadique Ali Thangal, all of whom cleared the air of confusion, saying that PV Anvar is not a closed chapter.
Going one step further, Ramesh declared that there is no ‘Satheesanism’ in Congress, a term now largely used to denote the opposition leader’s unilateral style of functioning. This has come at a crucial time, as the Congress and UDF are gearing up for the 2026 assembly election with many contenders in line for the CM post.
“There was criticism among UDF leaders and in the Congress against Satheesan calling the shots unilaterally for some time,” a senior Congress leader told The New Indian Express.
“Before the poll date, leaders from both the Congress and UDF conveyed to Satheesan that he should be careful while making statements and taking decisions. Satheesan’s declaration that Anvar is a closed chapter for the UDF without considering the opinion of senior leaders has not gone well within the UDF.
“We were anguished that his controversial response when asked about whether the failure of Aryadan Shoukath to visit former Congress candidate VV Prakash’s house would cause a setback. And many youth leaders across group politics also came out against certain MLAs who are part of the opposition leader’s inner ring for making reels. The loose talk of Youth Congress president Rahul Mamkootathil, who is close to Satheeshan, and the way in which he intervened in many issues was the last nail in the patience of leaders,” he said.
The League was upset with Satheesan after he allegedly derailed IUML general secretary PK Kunhalikutty’s attempts to reach a settlement with PV Anvar.
“When Kunhalikutty was minister, Satheesan was nowhere in the political landscape of Kerala,” a senior League leader told The New Indian Express on condition of anonymity. “Though we are of the opinion that the candidate of a political party should not be determined by people from outside, on a larger political sphere, there were numerous ways to tackle the issue and neutralise the threat. On many occasions, the League and Kunhalikutty have carried out this task for the Congress and UDF,” he added.
The Priyanka Gandhi factor
Aryadan Shoukath’s victory against all odds has proved that in Nilambur, the League comes first with Congress in second place. Unlike the last three byelections, in Nilambur several leaders pitched in during various stages of the campaign — selecting the candidate, keeping it secret till the last moment, setting the campaign agenda and social engineering.
It was KPCC working president AP Anil Kumar, who was also in charge of the bypoll, who successfully resolved the candidate issue by taking along DCC president VS Joy and kept the candidate’s name a secret till the day Congress announced it. Anil also undertook many tasks, including registering 8,000 new voters and holding around 400 house meetings. He was the brain behind implementing public meetings at each Congress’s mandalam committee.
However, the election agenda for the byelection was set by AICC organisational general secretary KC Venugopal, who attacked Pinarayi Vijayan, alleging that the CM had defamed Malappuram in an earlier interview. Incidentally, the AICC also wanted a comfortable victory margin as Nilambur falls in Priyanka Gandhi’s Wayanad parliament constituency.
Venugopal’s statement that Anvar’s issues would be addressed was made taking into account AICC’s decisions. However, the unexpected objection raised by Satheesan came as a surprise to the high command. AICC has taken a decision not to intervene in the state leadership’s decisions to avoid a controversy. KC Venugopal’s decision not to meet PV Anvar though the latter had requested to meet him in Kozhikode was in sync with this position.
UDF’s social engineering
The Muslim League, which faced criticism at first after family members from the Panakkad family were missing from the UDF convention, went on a firefighting mode with its rank and file taking part in campaigning and door-to-door visits. League president Panakkad Sadique Ali Thangal participated in house meetings at Pothukal panchayat, the native place of CPM candidate. The League ensured that not a single vote would go to the rival side.
It was PK Kunhalikutty who intervened whenever the ego clash between Satheesan and Anvar intensified. League leaders PK Basheer, PMA Salam coordinated all the campaign work. It was Basheer who had taken steps to resolve the existing issues with the candidate and League workers.
The Nilambur election also witnessed the complete dominance of the UDF in social engineering by taking all community groups with them, a strategy the CPM had previously implemented successfully.
When Shoukath’s candidature was decided, he was quite unpopular in the constituency. It was Satheesan and KPCC secretary KP Noushad Ali who sorted out these issues by holding marathon meetings with different community groups and organisations.
There are three Mujahideen sections in Nilambur. Anvar, being a Mujahideen, has a strong influence in the community. Hence, Satheesan held discussions with Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen, Wisdom and Markus Dava leadership separately. The two leaders also met the new group that emerged from the EK Sunni section, as they have an affiliation with the CPM.
The leaders were also successful in taking AP Sunni sections – which are traditionally close to CPM – into confidence. To resolve the issues the merchants in Nilambur had with Shoukath, the opposition leader held discussions with the state general secretary of the powerful Vyapari Vyavasay Ekopana Samithi at its office at Nilambur for almost two hours.
Anvar left with less bargaining power
Meanwhile, since the BDJS, as part of the NDA, decided not to contest the election, it was UDF convener Adoor Prakash who canvassed for votes from the community in favour of the UDF. KPCC president Sunny Joseph and Roji M John made sure that the Christian community’s votes remained intact. Besides youth leaders Chandy Oommen, who had covered 3,000 houses, CR Mahesh, M Liju and Mathew Kuzhlnadan, who were in charge of panchayats, worked hard to coordinate the campaigns.
“The outcome of the Nilambur byelection will have an impact on the state Congress in the coming days,” said a KPCC leader.
Though Satheesan has objected to an association with Anvar, the 19,690 votes he garnered are enough for the UDF to reconsider their earlier stand. However, Anvar himself now knows that he has less bargaining power. He has already declared that he will be contesting the 2026 assembly election from Beypore in Kozhikode against PA Mohammad Riyaz, son-in-law of CM Pinarayi.
However, the Congress will have to consider many factors, and hence accommodating him will be a matter of discussion within the Congress and the UDF in the coming days.
Interesting times lie ahead.