# Ajayan | In the poetic theatre of democracy, Nilambur has delivered its lines loud and clear, and the ruling LDF, like after defeats at every bypoll, is busy stitching together the weakest patchwork of excuses known to political spin, refusing to own up to what was clearly a referendum against the Pinarayi government.
The message was not muddled; it was a sharp roll-call of failures, a rejection of governance that dons the cloak of development while trampling over real issues. When the State starts sounding more like a corporation and less like a caretaker, voters don’t just whisper, they shout out loud with their ballots. This has been the experience at every bypoll during the Pinarayi regime.
The Congress-led UDF’s Aryadan Shoukath clinching victory by a hefty margin of 11,077 votes over CPM’s local man and fiery M Swaraj was no minor feat, especially in the wake of LDF’s own two-time MLA, PV Anwar, staging a spectacular fallout with his former political home. His resignation came with fireworks, firing salvos at the government and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, only to jump back into the ring as an Independent after being snubbed by the UDF, no less.
But Anwar wasn’t content being a footnote. Armed with a platform soaked in anti-Pinarayism, he pulled a solid 19,760 votes, making sure he wasn’t just another rebel with a rant. His barely-concealed grudge against Opposition Leader VD Satheesan hung over his campaign - loud, awkward and impossible to ignore.
Math meets spin
In the final arithmetic of the Nilambur verdict, the numbers couldn’t be louder - over 97,497 votes, including those polled by Anwar, firmly rejected the ruling front, while CPM’s M Swaraj limped in with just 66,660 when it was 81,227 that its candidate Anwar won in 2021. A margin that screams anti-Government sentiment! But enter CPM State Secretary MV Govindan, armed with a calculator set to delusion. He blames “fundamentalist forces” for the defeat and claims the UDF’s vote share fell, apparently forgetting that the UDF’s actual vote drop is a mere 790. The arguments that the CPM leaders roll out point out that the only thing falling faster than LDF’s popularity is the quality of its excuses.
The UDF’s campaign in Nilambur ran like a well-oiled machine, despite early hiccups over candidate selection; hiccups mostly stirred by rank outsider PV Anwar, who kept knocking on the UDF’s door with persistence bordering on desperation. But the UDF wasn’t buying what Anwar was selling. In a move both strategic and symbolic, they chose to shut that door firmly, delivering a clear and calculated snub. And judging by the results, it was a decision well vindicated, proving that discipline and direction trump disruption and drama.
For the CPM, with its time-tested cadre machinery, the Nilambur campaign should’ve been child’s play, especially with Pinarayi Vijayan himself headlining the show, flanked by an entourage of ministers and rehearsed rhetoric.
What they delivered, however, was a greatest hits album of development fairy tales — a narrative so out of touch, it might as well have been fiction. Voters were fed stories of success while National Highways literally got washed away, Asha workers continued their fight for fair wages and wild animal conflicts remained tamed only in speeches. Add to that the hurried doling out of delayed welfare pensions, mounting public frustration and the cloud of controversy hovering over the Chief Minister’s family.
Perhaps it was but a parade of missteps dressed as triumph. Nilambur didn’t just listen; it responded, but not the way CPM had hoped.
Pens slide
In a bid to bolster Swaraj’s chances, the CPM rolled out a familiar script - rallying a choir of writers and intellectuals to sing praises and lend moral gravitas to its candidate. But what was conveniently overlooked was that UDF’s Aryadan Shoukath isn’t exactly a cultural lightweight — a proven writer and director of an award-winning film, no less. As expected, this selective show of literary solidarity didn’t go uncontested. Another faction of intellectuals cried foul, pointing out the blatant bias; and unlike the usual cheerleaders, they weren’t in it for proximity to power or perks.
In the end, all the pens and poetry couldn’t rewrite the voter’s verdict. Nilambur, as it turns out, had a sharper sense of reality than all the Left think pieces combined.
Lessons UDF should pick
The writing isn’t just on the wall; it’s etched in bold, unforgiving letters. Nilambur’s verdict is a resounding rejection of the LDF Government, a sharp slap to governance wrapped in arrogance and denial, especially when the Pinarayi team dreams of 3.0.
For the UDF, this isn’t just a win, it’s a wake-up call. A chance to set aside internal bickering, step up and actually earn the mandate they’ve just been handed. The people have spoken, not in whispers, but with clarity. Now it’s on the Opposition to match that clarity with purpose.
