PALAKKAD: Salaam, who is all set to be elected the president of Thachanattukara panchayat in Palakkad on Wednesday, will be a bitter reminder to the LDF that making fun of someone’s disability is never a good idea. Fondly called Salaam master, the IUML candidate who won from ward 11, moves around in crutches. His physical limitations made him a target of ridicule by CPM candidate Shaheer Ali during campaigning.
At ‘kottikalasham’, Ali, who was in the fray from ward 10 of the panchayat, ridiculed Salaam asking, “If there is a marriage in Thachanattukara, can Salaam master help in putting up a pandal? Can he play football?” The insults went on. Ali’s derisive comments spread like wildfire on social media, generating a lot of sympathy and empathy for Salaam, a Malayalam teacher at the Mannarkad DHSS here.
The result: Ward 11, which was won by the LDF candidate in the 2015 local body polls by just one vote, went to Salaam this time by a margin of 315 votes. Adding insult to LDF’s injury, Ali lost to IUML’s Iliyas Kunnumpuram in ward 10 by 127 votes. In the 16-member panchayat, UDF won 11 seats, nine of them won by IUML. LDF won five seats this time.