Anvar is UDF candidate in Beypore, confirms KPCC

KPCC confirms P.V. Anvar as UDF candidate for Beypore Assembly, amid political shifts and local support.

The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) has declared the candidature of former Nilambur MLA P.V. Anvar from the Beypore Assembly constituency in Kozhikode district, from where P.A. Mohamed Riyas, Minister for Public Works and Tourism, the incumbent legislator, is expected to seek a second term in office.

The candidature was announced by KPCC president Sunny Joseph in Kozhikode on Monday (February 2, 2026). Asked by the media about Mr. Anvar’s ongoing informal campaign in the constituency, he said, “Mr. Anvar will definitely get elected as an MLA from Beypore.”

Mr. Anvar, who emerged victorious from Nilambur, a United Democratic Front (UDF) stronghold, in 2016 and 2021 as a Left Democratic Front-backed Independent candidate, later severed his ties with the front, protesting against the policies of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. He resigned as MLA in 2025 and is now part of the Trinamool Congress.

Mr. Anvar had been meeting prominent people in the constituency for the past few weeks. The local unit of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) had welcomed his candidature earlier. He had met senior IUML leaders such as M.C. Mayin Haji recently. Posters welcoming Mr. Anvar to the constituency too had appeared in some parts of Beypore.

However, it is not yet clear if Mr. Anvar will contest as a Trinamool Congress candidate. Though the UDF has decided to make him an associate member, the Kerala unit of that party recently expressed its displeasure over the move. Trinamool State leaders claim that the decision to join the UDF was taken without consulting the party national leadership.

According to Congress sources, Mr. Anvar could be fielded as an Independent candidate supported by the UDF. On Monday (February 2, 2026), he also met local residents and merchants at a fish market in Beypore.