Kozhikode: The Beypore Assembly constituency in Kozhikode district is set to witness a high-voltage contest in the upcoming Kerala Assembly elections as the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) has decided to field former LDF MLA and Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader P V Anvar as its candidate. 

The UDF's decision was confirmed on Monday by Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Sunny Joseph, ending days of speculation. Anvar is the first candidate the UDF has officially announced for the upcoming Assembly elections.

Speculation around Anvar's candidature had been strong for several days, as he had been actively participating in UDF programmes in Beypore. Since early January, he has met several social and religious leaders in the constituency and taken part in UDF-organised protest programmes.  Left Democratic Front (LDF) is most likely to field the current MLA and PWD and tourism minister PA Mohammed Riyas again in Beypore.

Anvar resigned as Nilambur MLA in January last year after severing ties with the ruling (LDF), citing serious disagreements and making a series of allegations against the front leadership.

After leaving the LDF, Anvar explored several political options, including an attempt to join the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). After that effort failed, he joined the Trinamool Congress. Subsequent discussions with the Congress and the Indian Union Muslim League leadership ultimately led to his decision to contest the Assembly elections under the UDF banner.

As a strong critic of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his son-in-law Mohammed Riyas, the UDF believes that Anvar can put up a tough fight in Beypore, which has traditionally been a Left stronghold.

In Beypore's electoral history, the UDF has won the constituency only twice—in 1977 and 1980—when Congress candidate N P Moideen won. The CPM has won all other Assembly elections held in the constituency.

In the previous Assembly election, Riyas won by a massive margin of 28,747 votes. He secured 49.73 per cent of the votes, while Congress candidate P M Niyaz received 32.33 per cent. BJP candidate K P Prakash Babu polled 26,267 votes (15.9 per cent). While the LDF increased its vote share by 6 per cent, both the Congress and BJP saw a decline of around 3 per cent.

In the 2016 Assembly election, LDF-backed independent candidate V K C Mammad Koya won the seat with a margin of 17,363 votes, securing 44.39 per cent of the votes. Congress candidate Adam Mulsi received 35.16 per cent. In an earlier election, senior CPM leader Elamaram Kareem had won the seat by a margin of 5,316 votes.

The UDF's vote share in Beypore was 42 per cent in 2011, the highest in the last fifteen years, but it fell sharply to 35 per cent in 2016 when the same candidate contested.

Despite LDF's strong performance, the front faced a significant setback in the recent local body elections in Beypore. Based on the votes polled by Left candidates in various local bodies under the Beypore Assembly segment, the LDF appears to have lost substantial support, particularly in divisions 40 to 53 of the Kozhikode Corporation.

KPCC president Sunny Joseph expressed confidence that Anvar would easily win the Beypore seat. After visiting Chaliyam Harbour on Monday, Anvar alleged that Riyas had failed to work for the welfare of the common people in the constituency.

Meanwhile, countering Anvar's early campaign and mass outreach programmes, minister Riyas has announced a Vikasana Jatha in Beypore to highlight the welfare and development initiatives implemented by the LDF government during his tenure.