PALAKKAD: In a significant twist in pre-election negotiations within the UDF, the Muslim League’s Palakkad district leadership has withdrawn its earlier demand for the Pattambi assembly seat and decided to retain Kongad, a move senior League leaders say is aimed at preserving the party’s “secular image”.
According to League insiders, the revised understanding now under consideration would see the League fielding a Dalit candidate from Kongad, as it did in the previous election, on its party symbol, while the Pattambi seat would be contested by a Muslim candidate on Congress symbol. A League state committee leader said the arrangement was part of broader alliance negotiations. “This is being viewed as a way to reinforce the coalition’s secular positioning and distribute electoral responsibilities across communities,” the leader said.
However, sources within the League indicated that the earlier push to claim Pattambi emerged amid intense pressure from a senior Congress leader, who was keen on securing the Kongad seat for his relative, a woman leader from within Palakkad district. “There has been sustained lobbying from senior Congress quarters to accommodate district-level aspirations at Kongad, and that pressure significantly altered the League’s calculations,” a party insider said.
The discussion on a possible seat swap initially gained momentum following the League’s strong performance in the local body elections in the Pattambi assembly segment. “The League won 68 wards under the Pattambi constituency, more than both the Congress and the CPM,” a senior League leader said.
He added that Pattambi mandalam leaders, led by IUML state vice-president C A M A Kareem, had recently met party heavyweights P K Kunhalikutty and Sayyid Sadiqali Shihab Thangal to argue that the results demonstrated the League’s electoral strength in the constituency.
Despite this, party leaders privately concede that Pattambi presents significant electoral risks. The League does not enjoy consistent majorities in several pockets, particularly in areas where the SDPI has a visible presence and has, at times, extended support to the CPM.
In the 2021 assembly elections, Pattambi was won by CPI’s Muhammed Muhsin, who secured 49.58% of the vote, defeating Congress candidate Riyas Mukkoli, who polled 37.74%. Kongad (SC) was won by CPM’s K Santhakumari with 49.01%, while the IUML’s UC Raman secured a mere 29.36%.