Kolkata, May 27
Having announced the candidate for the bypolls to the Kaliganj Assembly constituency in the Nadia district of West Bengal, Trinamool Congress is now considering fielding a candidate in the Nilambur seat in Kerala.
Party insiders said that in case Trinamool Congress decides to field a candidate in Nilambur, the choice would be the two-time Left Democratic Front candidate P.V. Anvar, who has moved away from the Left and is currently associated with Mamata Banerjee's party.
In October last year, Anvar severed his ties with the Left Front Democratic Front and floated a new political party christened Democratic Movement of Kerala. Later, the new political outfit merged with Trinamool Congress and Anvar also resigned from the chair of the legislator.
“Like West Bengal, the Assembly elections for Kerala are also scheduled next year. So the bypolls for Nilambur scheduled next month are the right opportunity for our party leadership to measure whether we will be in a position to field candidates at least from some constituencies in Kerala in the Assembly elections next year. That is where discussions within the party have surfaced on whether to field a candidate for the Nilambur bypolls with Anvar as the party candidate. However, the final decision will be taken by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee,” said a senior member of the West Bengal cabinet who did not wish to be named.