Kasaragod: Sports and Youth Affairs Minister O J Janeesh’s car was blocked by around 500 DYFI workers in Trikaripur on Thursday evening, in the largest and potentially most volatile of the protests he faced across Kannur and Kasaragod districts during the day.

The confrontation unfolded at Nadakkavu, a CPM stronghold in Trikaripur panchayat, where Janeesh had arrived to attend an interactive event with athletes and sports personalities at Sreelayam Auditorium. The event was an initiative of Trikaripur's Congress MLA Sandeep Varier.

Janeesh was scheduled to reach the venue at 5 pm, but arrived around 7 pm after facing protests at several points on his journey from Kannur.

The tension at Nadakkavu had already been building for nearly an hour before the minister arrived. Around 500 DYFI workers had gathered near the venue to protest against Janeesh. On the other side were around 150 UDF workers, including Muslim League workers and people who had come for the programmes.

The confrontation intensified after Varier reached the spot along with UDF workers. Varier, who had earlier in the day said he would protect the minister in his constituency, was seen with his mundu rolled up as the two sides engaged in an angry exchange.

The DYFI and UDF workers traded abusive slogans and shouted at each other across the police cordon. There was pushing and shoving, prompting a heavy police deployment led by the Kasaragod district police chief Nidhinraj P.

The police repeatedly intervened to keep the two groups apart and prevent the confrontation from turning violent. The minister was scheduled to reach Nadakavu via Kallikadavu, a town on the national highway on the Kannur-Kasaragod border. But with DYFI protesters waiting along the route, he took the Madakkal-Cheruvathur route, only to run into another wall of DYFI protesters at Nadakavu.

The police intervened and, after 15 minutes, made way for the minister's vehicle to enter the auditorium compound. When Janeesh got out, UDF workers lifted him on their shoulders and carried him to the auditorium. He then walked inside.

The DYFI workers remained outside even after the programme began. They said they would allow the minister to leave but wanted to confront Varier and the UDF workers after the event.

More police personnel were deployed. The programme concluded around 8.30 pm. Janeesh was then escorted out under heavy police security, while the UDF workers were also moved away from the area. The DYFI workers later staged a protest march and dispersed.

There was no major physical clash, though there was pushing and shoving between workers during the confrontation. The heavy police presence helped prevent the situation from escalating further.
The Nadakkavu confrontation was the culmination of a day-long series of protests against Janeesh.

The minister’s vehicle was attacked by DYFI workers in Taliparamba, where protesters stopped the car and struck it with stones. Protests were also reported in Payyannur.

In Payyannur and Kanhangad, DYFI workers turned up at Janeesh’s programmes carrying plantain trees, in a symbolic dig suggesting that a banana plant was more productive than the minister.

The evening’s confrontation also unfolded against the backdrop of Trikaripur’s recent political shift.
The constituency had been a long-standing Left stronghold. The CPM had held the seat continuously for decades. In the 2026 Assembly election, however, Sandeep Varier of the Congress wrested the seat from the CPM for the first time.