Kochi, 23 December(HS): The Congress-led UDF’s plan to include three fringe parties in the alliance as part of strengthening the front to face the 2026 assembly election has boomeranged on the Grand Old Party itself.

The Leader of the Opposition in Kerala Legislative Assembly declared on Monday, after a meeting of the UDF that P V Anvar, C K Janu and Vishnupuram Chandrasekar, representing Trinamool Congress, Adivasi Gothrasabha (an outfit of tribals) and Kamaraj Kerala Congress, have joined the front led by the Congress.

The euphoria created by the declaration turned sour within one hour as Chandrasekhar said he had not approached the UDF. Adding insult to injury, Chandrasekar said he was a hardcore RSS worker. “How can a Swayamsevak like me could work with UDF, a collective of Islamic extremists?” he asked. Interestingly, he is the vice-chairman of the NDA in Kerala. Chandrasekar’s KKC is an outfit of the Nadar community which has some influence in southern Kerala.

But the most interesting development was the inclusion of P V Anvar in the UDF. He got elected to the Legislative Assembly in the 2021 election as a candidate supported by the CPI(M) and, since then worked as a henchman of Pinarayi Vijayan. But by early 2025 he fell out with the chief minister for not listening to his diktat to appoint officers belonging to the Muslim community in Malappuram district and the Kozhikode International Airport ostensibly to facilitate gold smuggling. He resigned as MLA as he wants to impress upon the UDF leadership that he has no connection with the CPI(M).

While in the LDF camp, he made speeches which embarrassed even the CPI(M) leaders. “The DNA of Rahul Gandhi has to be tested to confirm whether he was born in the Nehru-Gandhi family,” he had thundered during many speeches. Though Congress leaders had reservations against admitting him to the UDF, the Muslim League came out in his support and that made his entry into the camp easy.

But by Tuesday, the town of Feroke wore a festive look with hundreds of hoardings welcoming Anwar to the assembly constituency. He had made it known that if the UDF does not allocate him his chosen constituency of Nilambur, he wants to contest from Beypore, which is represented in the assembly by Mohammed Riyaz, the new husband of Veena, daughter of Pinarayi Vijayan. The constituency has a considerable Muslim population, and it is almost certain that a Muslim candidate fielded by the UDF would hands down.

The question is whether the Congress, which has been contesting the Beypore constituency would hand it over to Anwar, overlooking the interests of the local leaders. Janu, the other entrant to the UDF has not won even a single election in her career, and the presence of her party is not going to make any impact in the fortunes of the UDF.

Hindusthan Samachar / Manohar Yadavatti