CP Musafar Ahamed, the sitting Deputy Mayor and the Communist Party of India (Marxist)’s mayoral candidate in the Kozhikode Corporation, has suffered a shock defeat in the local body elections. Musafar contested from Meenchanda, the Corporation’s 39th ward, where he was defeated by UDF candidate S.K. Aboobacker. Aboobacker is currently a councillor from Valiyangadi.

Musafar’s candidature had turned the Meenchanda ward into a prestige battle for the LDF. The ward had earlier been held by the BJP, but underwent a complete delimitation ahead of this election.

Following the redrawing of ward boundaries, most parts of the Payyannakkal ward—where Musafar was first elected councillor in 2010—were merged to form the present 39th ward. In the previous election, the BJP had won Meenchanda by a margin of 130 votes. However, after delimitation, a large portion of the ward was transferred to Thiruvannur.

In the Payyannakkal ward, the LDF had won the last election by a margin of 713 votes. With a substantial part of Payyannakkal added to Meenchanda, the LDF had expected the ward to tilt in its favour.

Musafar is also the son of former Kozhikode South MLA C.P. Kunhu and had earlier contested the Assembly elections from the Kozhikode South constituency.