Key Points

Cheered on by large crowds, Priyanka Gandhi waved to supporters from an open truck, as people lined the streets holding party flags and chanting pro-Congress slogans.

The visit is seen as a major boost for the Congress campaign, which is working to secure a win for its candidate Aryadan Shoukath.

Earlier, senior party leader Ramesh Chennithala told ANI in Thrissur, "Priyanka Gandhi's visit to Nilambur is for the campaign. We will get a good response from Priyanka Gandhi's visit. Her visit will energise the party workers."

Priyanka had also visited Nilambur on June 13 (Friday), as the area falls under her Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency.

In Malappuram, Congress leader Shama Mohamed said that such an election is a "waste of state's money," criticising PV Anwar for resigning as Nilambur MLA but contesting the by-elections anyway under a different political party.

She also expressed confidence that the United Democratic Front (UDF) would win the assembly seat.

The Congress leader told ANI, "In the history of India, it's the first time that an MLA who resigned (PV Anwar) from a seat is standing again for the same seat, that too for a by-election. So what is the point of wasting the state's money, people's work, and the EC's involvement?"

Claiming that Anvar is "fooling the people of Kerala," she said that the Left Democratic Front (LDF) themselves attack Anvar for not doing work in his constituency, despite being aligned with them before his resignation. "PV Anwar is fooling the people of Kerala.

"The LDF candidate, M Swaraj, says that PV Anwar has done nothing in the last nine years. Who was PV Anwar with? PV Anwar was an MLA with the LDF. So, Swaraj is saying the LDF has done no work. I believe very strongly the UDF will win with a majority," Mohamed said.

With the Nilambur bypolls just a few days away and the contest heating up, state Congress president Sunny Joseph claimed that the party's MP, Shafi Parambil, was deliberately insulted by the police without any evidence when he came to campaign for the Nilambur by-election. There was a deliberate attempt to insult Congress MP Shafi Parambil.

"The police knew it was Shafi Parambil travelling in the car -- they directed him to stop and flashed a torchlight on his face. Even after recognising him, they asked him to open the car. He complied and even offered to open the bags for any search. This was done purposefully and intentionally," Joseph said on Saturday.

The elections were necessitated after the resignation of PV Anvar, an LDF-backed MLA, who stepped down in January after making several allegations against the Left government in the state. Apart from UDF candidate Shoukath, the LDF aims to retain its seat by having M Swaraj contes, and the BJP has fielded Mohan George.

With the assembly elections set to take place next year, the Nilambur bypoll is being seen as a litmus test of public sentiment toward the ruling state government.

- ANI