Kozhikode

P A Mohamed Riyas on Saturday said elections should not be viewed as personal contests between individual candidates, but as a larger battle of political ideologies.

Speaking to reporters in Kozhikode, Riyas was responding to remarks made by his electoral rival, P V Anvar, who had publicly thrown down a symbolic challenge linked to the outcome of the Assembly election in the Beypore constituency.

“An election is not a boxing match between candidates. It is a contest between different ideologies, and that is how the Left Democratic Front and the people see it,” Riyas said.

He noted that voters generally make their choices not out of personal attachment to candidates, but on the basis of the political vision, development agenda and ideological positions represented by them.

According to him, while individual candidates may attract a certain floating vote, the larger electoral mandate is shaped by public concerns, governance issues and political priorities.

Riyas also said that many workers within the United Democratic Front had campaigned sincerely in Beypore, and even they would not endorse such personal challenges or rhetoric.

He said time should not be wasted responding to such remarks, adding that voters would ultimately judge candidates based on the issues they raised during the campaign.

Expressing confidence ahead of the results, Riyas said he expects not only to retain the seat but also to improve his victory margin compared to the 2021 Assembly election.

Referring to previous election forecasts, he recalled that several exit polls in 2021 had predicted defeats for leaders of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), including himself, but the final results proved otherwise.

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He said the political atmosphere currently appears favourable for the LDF and added that the full picture would become clear when votes are counted on May 4.