Kerala Assembly elections 2026: will Beypore’s duel shake State’s Left fortress?

If the electoral buzz in the Beypore Assembly constituency five years ago centred on the debut of then DYFI national president P.A. Mohamed Riyas, who shot to prominence as the son-in-law of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, the spotlight ahead of the April 9 polls has shifted decisively to a defector, P.V. Anvar, now pitted against him in the same Communist stronghold.

The broader political landscape in this historic port town of Kozhikode looks nothing like 2021. What is unfolding is a closely watched duel of personalities that has already sent ripples across the State, going well beyond the routine defence of a ministerial seat. Mr. Anvar, once a loyal LDF ally who won twice from Nilambur in Malappuram district, has emerged as Mr. Riyas’ most disruptive challenger, contesting as an Independent with the full backing of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF).

His target is Mr. Riyas, whose meteoric rise to Minister for Public Works and Tourism has been accompanied by a development-centric pitch in Beypore. Citing over ₹1,800 crore spent on infrastructure upgrades- including bridges, roads and port development, he has made development the central theme of his campaign.

However, Mr. Anvar is desperately attempting to tap into the anti-incumbency sentiment against the Left government, portraying the multi-crore projects as a smokescreen for what he describes as a regime driven by public relations. He has sought to reframe the contest as a referendum on the concentration of power.

The Beypore segment comprises 14 divisions of the Kozhikode Corporation, along with Feroke and Ramanattukara municipalities and the Kadalundi grama panchayat. In the local body polls held in December 2025, the LDF won eight divisions in the Corporation and the Kadalundi grama panchayat, while the UDF emerged victorious in five Corporation divisions and retained power in Feroke and Ramanattukara municipalities.

Despite these mixed signals, the Assembly segment has unflatteringly remained a CPI(M) bastion for over four decades, with continuous Left victories since 1982. It is a constituency where history, strategy, and shifting political loyalties intersect. Old-timers may recall the politically bizarre ‘CoLeBi’ (Congress-League-BJP) experiment of the 1991 Assembly polls, an arrangement widely seen as a tactical manoeuvre engineered by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to gain a legislative foothold through a quid pro quo with the Congress–IUML combine. While that failed episode has largely faded from the public memory of Beypore’s electorate, its underlying template of opportunistic alliances continues to resonate in Kerala’s broader political landscape, now and then.

A third candidate likely to complicate the arithmetic is K.P. Prakash Babu of the BJP, who is attempting to consolidate the Hindu vote for a third consecutive term in a constituency where minorities have long played a role in determining the mandate. Last time, he received over 26,000 votes and a 15.9% share.

Certainly, his eventual tally could also prove crucial in determining the outcome of the contest between Mr. Riyas, who has steadily broken free from the perceived chrysalis of the Chief Minister’s shadow, and Mr. Anvar, an outsider with a maverick image who has often been embroiled in legal and environmental controversies related to his ventures.

The CPI(M)’s strong organisational network and governance record give Mr. Riyas a definite edge. However, Mr. Anvar’s entry adds uncertainty, particularly if he succeeds in consolidating anti-incumbency votes beyond the UDF’s traditional support base.

The presence of four namesakes, Anvar or Anwar, on the Beypore ballot will bring some worries for Mr. Anvar.