Kerala Assembly Election 2021, Nilambur profile: PV Anvar won seat in 2016 with support from LDF

Nilambur Assembly Election 2021 | The Nilambur Assembly constituency, a traditional Congress bastion, is currently held by the LDF. Congress leader Aryadan Muhammed was elected to the Assembly from Nilambur a record eight times: in 1977, 1980, 1987, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006, and 2011. Sitting MLA PV Anvar contested the 2016 election as an Independent candidate with the LDF’s support and won by 11,504 votes. At present, Anvar is facing multiple allegations, ranging from forcibly acquiring land to financial irregularities. He has also been accused of violating the Kerala Land Reforms Act by holding more land than what was sanctioned by the law. In January, a group of RTI activists announced that they will approach the Kerala High Court to seek a government takeover of the land in his possession that goes above the limit fixed by the Act. Congress activists recently filed a case with the Nilambur police over Anvar’s alleged absence in the constituency. Anvar responded by saying that he was in Africa for business reasons as politics isn’t his source of income. After the Nilambur Assembly seat win, the LDF also managed to capture the Nilambur municipality in 2020. The Left won 22 seats while the UDF won in just nine divisions. The fronts are yet to announce their candidates for Nilambur in the upcoming Assembly election. Nilambur will vote on  6 April, 2021 , along with 139 other constituencies in Kerala.  

Past election results and winners

In 2016, PV Anvar bagged the seat for the LDF, polling 77,415 votes against Congress runner-up Aryadan Shoukath’s 66,354 votes. Anvar’s victory marked the end of then sitting Congress MLA Aryadan Muhammed’s six-term-long rule.

Total electors, voter turnout, population

Electors: In Nilambur, 2,18,238 people are registered to vote in the 2021 Assembly election. The electorate comprises 1,11,289 males, 1,06,946 females, and three third-genders. Nilambur has 199 polling stations. Voter turnout: Nilambur recorded a voter turnout of 78.67 percent in the 2016 Assembly election when a total of 1.61 lakh electors, of whom 75,286 were male and 86,503 were female, exercised their franchise. Population: The Nilambur Assembly constituency consists of Amarambalam, Chungathara, Edakkara, Karulai, Moothedam, Nilambur, Pothukal and Vazhikkadavu panchayats. As per Census 2011, of Kerala’s 3.34 crore population, 54.73 percent are followers of Hinduism, followed by 26.56 percent followers of Islam and 18.38 percent Christians. Hinduism is the major religion in 13 of the state’s 14 districts. Malappuram is the only district in Kerala where Islam is the major religion with 70.24 percent of the district’s total population following the religion. The state has a tiny population that follows Jainism (0.01 percent), Sikhism (0.01 percent), Buddhism (0.01 percent) and 0.02 percent (other religions). Nearly 0.26 percent in the state didn’t state their religion during the 2011 Census.

Election date and timing

The Kerala Assembly/Niyama Sabha polls will be held on 6 April, 2021 , along with Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. The day will also see phase three polls in Assam and West Bengal. The Kerala Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) has a total number of 140 seats, of which, 14 seats are reserved for the Scheduled Castes and two seats are reserved for the Scheduled Tribes. The outgoing Assembly has eight female MLAs and rest 132 are male MLAs. The incumbent Kerala Niyamasabha will expire on 1 June, 2021.