Battle between Riyas, Anvar likely in Beypore

One of the most keenly watched electoral battles in the upcoming Assembly polls will unfold in Beypore in Kozhikode if the United Democratic Front (UDF) goes ahead with its plan to field P.V. Anvar, former Nilambur MLA, against P.A. Mohamed Riyas, Minister for Public Works and Tourism, who is expected to seek a second term from there.

A senior Congress leader told The Hindu on Wednesday that discussions were on to give Mr. Anvar ticket as a UDF-backed Independent. However, everything is not hunky dory for the two-time legislator as the State unit of the Trinamool Congress has opposed his move to contest from Beypore “without the concurrence of the party national leadership”. C.G. Unni, Trinamool Congress State president, told the media that the party was not consulted when Mr. Anvar recently joined the UDF. He also declared the Trinamool Congress’ decision to field a candidate against him if Mr. Anvar contests from Beypore.

Mr. Anvar, however, gave enough indications about his candidature on Wednesday when he posted on his Facebook page a photo and a small description about his future plans. He wrote that the Chaliyar river [in his home town] was a “miracle that becomes a sea” as it flows from Nilambur to Beypore to merge with the Arabian Sea there, while conquering “many minds and shores” through “its flow, strength and the water it carries forward”. A couple of days ago, Mr. Anvar had shared a video of himself interacting with the local residents on the Beypore beach, along with a tagline “Beypore, kattu kollan irangiyathanu” (In Beypore, to enjoy the sea breeze). Flex boards welcoming him to Beypore has appeared in different parts of the constituency.

It is learnt that the UDF has informally conveyed its consent to Mr. Anvar though a public declaration is yet to be made. Following this, he recently visited various areas in Beypore and interacted with prominent people there. The local unit of the Indian Union Muslim League has also welcomed Mr. Anvar to the constituency.

For the record, candidates fielded by the Left Democratic Front (LDF) had been winning from Beypore without a break for over 45 years. The last Congress leader to emerge victorious from there was the late N.P. Moideen, whose Congress (U) was part of the LDF in 1980. Mr. Riyas defeated P.M. Niyas of the UDF in 2021 by a margin of 28,747 votes.

Mr. Anvar, a former Congress leader who broke away from the party, won from the Nilambur Assembly constituency in Malappuram as an LDF-backed Independent in 2016. Though he repeated his victory in 2021 as well, Mr. Anvar severed his ties with the LDF in 2024 after expressing his differences of opinion with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s alleged nepotism and “pampering of soft Hindutva”. Mr. Anvar resigned from the post thereafter and joined the Trinamool Congress. Though he contested the byelection from Nilambur in 2025, Mr. Anvar was pushed to the third spot. The UDF recently decided to make him an associate member.