Muslim League paints it 'green', only in Malappuram though

Malappuram district saved Muslim League this time also, as it has always done. However, there has been a dip in the Muslim League’s vote share in all seats in the district, except in Vallikkunnu.

Kerala: There is no doubt that the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) is one of the political parties that contested in more than five seats in the Kerala Assembly elections and claimed a very high percentage of victory. The same happened in the 2021 State elections too. The IUML, also referred to as Muslim League, contested in 27 seats altogether and won 15 of them.

While compared to the other allies in the United Democratic Front (UDF), including the Congress which leads the alliance, and Kerala Congress, based on the number of seats contested in and the number of seats won in, the IUML, a second major ally with the UDF, holds the top position in the victory percentage within the Front.

However, coming to the 2021 Assembly poll, the Muslim League faced a set back in numbers and in electoral politics. The party which had gained 18 seats in the 2016 Assembly elections, could only get secure 15 this time, a loss of 3 seats. Besides, the party had also lost seats in Kannur, Kozhikode and Ernakulam districts during the seat allocation within the alliance.

The defeat in Azhikode, Kuttiady, Kozhikode South and Kalamassery constituencies has been a severe set back to the IUML. In Kozhikode district, though the experimentation at Kunnamangalam failed, regaining the Koduvally seat was the only relief for the Muslim League.

Tried, but could not succeed

In 2021, the Muslim League showed some courage to field a woman candidate in an Assembly election after 25 years. However, Advocate Noorbina Rasheed, the IUML candidate who was fielded from Kozhikode South, could not win the seat.

Going by the results, whether the party would attempt to field a woman candidate again remains a question.

The IUML had taken all efforts to win back Tanur and Thiruvambady constituencies. PK Firoz, a popular and young candidate who was fielded from Tanur with the hope that he would win the seat was also defeated.

At Thiruvambady, the League leadership had also met the Thamarassery Bishop seeking the Church’s support well before the elections. However, League could not win in Thamarassery either.

Mannarkkad, the only sitting seat for the party in the Palakkad district, could be retained, only because of the candidate N Shamsuddin’s popularity and reach among the people.

Malappuram climbs the ‘ladder’

Malappuram district saved Muslim League this time also, as it has always done. However, there has been a dip in the Muslim League’s vote share in all seats in the district, except in Vallikkunnu.

It was a tough battle and not a cakewalk for the League at Thirurangadi, where Muslim League general secretary KPA Majeed contested and Vengara referred to as ‘Ponnapuram Kotta’ (indicating that it is a fortress) where PK Kunjalikkutty was the candidate. The party failing to aggregate the expected majority margin also came as a jolt for the IUML leadership.

At Perinthalmanna, Muslim League candidate Najeeb Kanthapuram was declared to have won the seat from the verge of failure, with a meagre 38 seat margin. The victory margin for Najeeb Kanthapuram also happens to be the lowest in the 2021 Assembly election in Kerala.

Meanwhile, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) is all set to move the Court against results at the Perintalmanna constituency alleging that more than 300 postal votes have not been counted at all citing ‘technical reasons.’

At Manjeshwaram in Kasaragod district, a sitting IUML seat, the battle was tough for the League this time also, though the seat could be retained by them. As a relief, the Kasaragod constituency, which has been an IUML ‘monopolised seat’ ever since the constituency was formed, could also be retained, facing the challenges posed by the BJP through a tough battle.

No 'green' in South Kerala

The IUML faced a severe hit from the Southern districts of Kerala in the Assembly poll. The party lost the Kalamassery constituency which was said to be a sure seat where it had never tasted failure since the formation of the constituency through delimitation in 2011.

At Guruvayur and Punaloor constituencies, the party could not even put up a good fight for its opponent. Meanwhile, many Muslim League leaders were not allocated seats this time compared to the last polls. Some of them including former Mankada MLA TA Ahammed Kabir had publicly protested against this ‘neglect’. The political future of such leaders is uncertain.

The Indian National League (INL), a party that was formed by a faction that had split from the IUML, must be happy today. The LDF let the INL in and had allotted 3 seats of which it could win one.

‘Oh my Rabb’

Soon after the assembly elections results were declared, former Minister and Muslim League leader PK Abdu Rabb’s Facebook post led to several discussions and debates.

He said, "Don’t forget how the prophet had addressed those who retreated from the battlefield." Usually, such remarks are termed sly or snide. But here, Abdu Rabb was straight enough and has precisely said what he had to. Rabb, who had won twice as an MLA from Tirurangadi and had served as a Minister once, was not given a chance to contest this time.

Rabb’s post originally in Malayalam roughly translates as - "The truth is that people elect their representatives to the sanctum sanctorum of democracy every five years so that their voice echoes in the legislative assemblies. When this is forgotten, the blow on the head becomes more strong. It should not be forgotten how the Prophet addressed those who made a retreat from the battlefield."

Abdu Rabb has openly criticised PK Kunjalikkutty, who had quit his MP position halfway through and came to State politics to contest for the Assembly poll, quoting the prophet.

Abdu Rabb also criticised allotting seats to KM Shaji in Azhikode and CH Ibrahimkutty in Perambra.

He writes, "When those who are seen as accused by the society, are 'entrusted' with constituencies even before they have proved their innocence, and regardless of the opinions from the organisation’s grassroots, people would give a befitting response to that action, however great the person is."

He concludes by saying that the leadership of the party, including me, is responsible for this defeat. Without making up excuses, we should have the guts to accept the failure and work on where we erred.

The changing mind of Malappuram

Amid the melee of the Assembly elections in the State, the bypoll to the Malappuram Lok Sabha seat was conducted without much of a noise.

Things were not very smooth at the Malappuram Lok Sabha constituency, which had rewritten the record for the majority votes when PK Kunjalikkutty and E Ahammed had contested.

CPM candidate VP Sanu had presented an extremely tight battle against one of the popular national leader of IUML, MP Abdussamad Samadani in the League fortress.

Even though Samadani won the Lok Sabha seat, the drastic dip in the League’s victory margin is another set back for the Muslim League in their traditional fortress. The CPM, through their young leader Sanu, could also give a jolt to the Muslim League which had thought that the Malappuram Lok Sabha seat is a cakewalk for the party.