Counting to begin for Nilambur bypoll at 8 am on June 23

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], June 21 (ANI): Votes will be counted for bypoll to the Nilambur Legislative Assembly Constituency (LAC) from 8 am on June 23.
Chief Electoral Officer, Dr Ratan U Kelkar, said that the strong room will be opened at 7.30 am in the presence of the candidates' agents, and the counting of votes will begin at 8 am, according to a release.
Nineteen rounds of counting will be held across 14 tables. Five tables have been set up for counting postal ballots, including ETBS. The postal ballots will be counted first. After this, the electronic votes will be counted, the release said.
The counting of votes will be done in the presence of the Observer appointed by the Election Commission and the candidates or their agents. Micro observers and AROs have been appointed to monitor the counting of votes. The number of VVPAT slips in the five selected booths will be compared with the votes in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) in the said booths to ensure its accuracy.
The Chief Electoral Officer also said that the electronic voting machines used in the bye election are secured in a strong room set up at Chungathara Marthoma Higher Secondary School under tight security 24x7 by both the Central Armed Police Force and the State Armed Police.
The Nilambur assembly by-election in Kerala recorded a voter turnout of 70.76% as of 5 PM on June 19, according to data from the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Kerala.
The Left Democratic Front (LDF) has fielded M Swaraj, the United Democratic Front (UDF) has fielded Aryadan Shoukath, while the BJP has fielded Adv. Mohan George is a candidate for the Nilambur Assembly constituency.
United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate Aryadan Shoukhath expressed confidence of party's victory, saying that the state government has "totally neglected Nilambur area," with tribals not being rehabilitated and human-animal conflict increasing.
Earlier, Kerala LoP and Congress MLA VD Satheesan also said that a UDF victory would mark the party's return to power in the state.
Speaking to ANI, Satheesan said, "This is a political contest, a direct fight between the UDF and the LDF. It is the semi-final leading up to the 2026 Assembly elections, and we are confident of winning by a significant margin. We see this as an opportunity to hold the Pinarayi government accountable, a government that has been in power for the past nine years."
The bypoll has been necessitated after the resignation of Left Democratic Front independent legislator PV Anvar, who later joined the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) after his acrimonious break-up with the ruling alliance. (ANI)