LEFT OR RIGHT, NILAMBUR SHOWS THE WAY

The high-stakes by-poll could shape Kerala’s 2026 political battle - and decide who gets to lead the charge

- BY MANOJ NAIR | Business Editor

So, the most important by-election in Kerala of recent times is all set to happen in Nilambur, and for three of those candidates a win or a loss matters quite a bit. Because this is the very election that will set up the tone and outcome for what’s going to happen in about 10 months, when Kerala goes to the polls for the real thing — the 2026 assembly elections.

Can the CPM’s M. Swaraj make a return to the Kerala assembly after that eye-opening defeat in the 2021 state elections? For Swaraj personally, it was a definite setback after being hailed as one of the most promising of next-gen leaders of CPM. (There was even talk of a ministerial berth if he had won ...)