Ousted Perak Menteri Besar Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin's candidacy for the Bukit Gantang by-election caught many political observers by surprise.

After all, PAS has a large pool of talent that it could have fielded and Mohd Nizar already has his hands full trying to wrest the state government back from Barisan Nasional.

For Mohd Nizar, the answer was simple: "This is no mere by-election".