Nilambur isn’t just a bypoll. Is it a preview of 2026?
The Nilambur bye-election in Kerala is turning out to be Anvar vs Anvar: a campaign to defend his own political relevance against the contradictions of his trajectory – from loyal LDF ally, to spurned UDF hopeful, to a one-man front backed by a party with no base.
Welcome to this week’s Powertrip, a political newsletter exclusively curated for TNM and NL subscribers by Dhanya Rajendran, Shabbir Ahmed, Pooja Prasanna, and Nidheesh MK. This week, we bring you insider information on the buzz behind the next Director General of Police in Tamil Nadu, given that an election year is coming up. In Kerala, with the controversial PV Anvar contesting from TMC, Nilambur becomes a testing ground for what kind of politics the state may be drifting toward.
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