India, May 30 -- The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Friday named, M Swaraj, former MLA and state secretariat member as its candidate for the upcoming by-election to the Nilambur assembly constituency in Kerala scheduled for June 19.

The decision was announced by CPI(M)'s state secretary MV Govindan, following the party's state secretariat meeting in Thiruvananthapuram.

Swaraj, who represented the Thripunithura assembly constituency in Ernakulam district between 2016 and 2021 as a member of the legislative assembly (MLA), will take on Congress candidate Aryadan Shoukath in the bypoll. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is yet to announce its candidate.

The bye-election was necessitated after i...