P.V. Anvar blames UDF for poll defeat in Beypore after Kozhikode DCC chief admits ‘faulty candidate selection’

Over three-and-a-half months after the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) gained 12 out of the 13 seats in the Kozhikode district Assembly elections, a controversy has erupted over a statement by Koyilandy MLA and district Congress committee president K. Praveenkumar about the defeat of P.V. Anvar, the UDF-backed Independent candidate in Beypore.

P.A. Mohamed Riyas, a former Minister and a State secretariat member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), emerged victorious from Beypore, winning by a margin of 7,487 votes, his second Assembly poll win from the constituency. In a public meeting recently, Praveenkumar argued that had the candidate selection in Beypore "not gone wrong", the UDF could have secured all 13 Assembly constituencies in Kozhikode.

"We now realize that we could have registered a cent per cent victory in Kozhikode if anyone had contested there either on a hand symbol [of the Congress] or the ladder symbol [of the Indian Union Muslim League, a UDF ally]," Praveenkumar said. Anvar later shared a video of these remarks on Facebook, criticizing the Congress leadership in the district without naming anyone.

The former Nilambur MLA stated that people in "responsible positions" had publicly admitted to being "behind his defeat." Anvar also pointed out that the current Chief Minister had claimed that Beypore would receive a gift if Anvar won, questioning whether some ministerial aspirants had lost sleep over it. Anvar also highlighted that he had raised allegations against the incumbent Leader of the Opposition, Pinarayi Vijayan, and his family members, which helped the UDF secure 102 seats in the elections.

The former MLA could not be reached for further comments. Praveenkumar claimed that his remarks were not meant to personally target Anvar, but rather to express the feelings of party workers. He maintained that he had a cordial relationship with Anvar and that there were "no misunderstandings" between them. The UDF local leadership had previously been accused of playing a key role in Anvar's defeat in Beypore, where he allegedly did not receive the expected votes from many UDF strongholds.

Anvar's vote count was also notably lower compared to the total votes garnered by UDF candidates in the 2025 local body polls in Beypore. Despite the Congress declaring the formation of an inquiry panel into these allegations, it reportedly made no significant progress in the matter. Similar remarks to Praveenkumar's were made by former Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Mullappally Ramachandran on Tuesday evening, stating that they had lost in Beypore and that Anvar's candidature was avoidable. Ramachandran believed that with a different candidate, they could have won Beypore as well.