Kerala Assembly Elections 2026 | Battle of Beypore: CPI(M)’s Mohammed Riyas faces P V Anvar’s challenge in Left fortress

The sitting MLA -- P A Mohammed Riyas, faces an aggressive political challenge from P V Anvar, a controversial and outspoken politician now backed by UDF.

The political script of Beypore has followed a predictable plot over the years as far as electoral contests are concerned. For decades, the coastal constituency in Kozhikode has remained a safe haven or a fortress of sorts for the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)]. But this time around, the contest here is drawing unusual attention.

The sitting MLA, P A Mohammed Riyas Kerala’s Public Works Minister and son-in-law of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, faces an aggressive political challenge from P V Anvar, a controversial and outspoken politician now backed by the United Democratic Front (UDF).

Beypore’s electoral history explains why the contest matters. Since the early 1980s, the CPI(M) has held the constituency almost continuously, with leaders such as T K Hamza and Elamaram Kareem building a strong organisational base through trade unions, coastal labour networks and local party committees.

In the 2021 elections, Riyas won the seat by a margin of more than 28,000 votes, reinforcing the Left’s dominance.

The constituency itself is politically diverse. It includes parts of Kozhikode city such as Beypore, Nallalam and Cheruvannur, along with the municipalities of Feroke and Ramanattukara and the coastal panchayat of Kadalundi.

Fishing communities, port workers, small traders, Gulf migrant families and an expanding urban middle class form the core of the electorate.

Community arithmetic has traditionally worked in favour of the Left. Muslims form the single largest bloc, while Hindus – including Ezhava and Thiyya communities that historically leaned towards the Left, make up another significant segment.

By combining working-class Hindu votes with sections of Muslim support, the CPI(M) has managed to keep the opposition at bay.

It is this equation that Anvar hopes to disrupt. Once seen as a political ally of the LDF, Anvar was elected from Nilambur in 2016 and 2021 with the support of the CPI(M)-led LDF.

However, his relationship with the ruling front deteriorated in recent years following a series of public disagreements with the government and the party leadership.

Accusing sections of the establishment of sidelining him and questioning the concentration of power within the ruling dispensation, Anvar eventually walked out of the Left fold.

His entry into the Beypore contest with the backing of the UDF has turned what was once a routine Left stronghold into a closely watched political battle. Anvar has built his campaign around sharp attacks on the government and on Riyas’s political stature, while also attempting to consolidate sections of the Muslim electorate and tap into local grievances ranging from infrastructure issues to coastal livelihoods.

The CPI(M), however, remains confident. Party leaders point to their entrenched organisational network and longstanding support among port workers, fishermen and the urban working class, not to forget the developmental projects undertaken by the LDF government, which their candidates across the state have been constantly reminding voters.