KOZHIKODE: By releasing an impressive list of candidates, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has triggered a new political discourse. Representation for women, youth and a non-Muslims in general seat has prompted a debate centering on whether the list implies any changes in the political moorings of the IUML, especially in the context of the Congress falling to the Hindutva agenda and the rival CPM also accused of treading the same path.
The IUML was indiscriminately targeted, particularly by the BJP, which accused the party of dominating the UDF and being anti-christian, and Left liberals accusing the League of being a party driven by religious clerics. By fielding Kozhikode DCC general secretary Dinesh Perumanna as an independent in Kunnamangalam, League has tried to respond to the first allegation. The candidature of Noorbina Rasheed, three youth leaders and the opportunity given to several new faces is the answer to the second one.
“It is true that we tried to ensure more inclusiveness in the candidates’ list. League is a secular party known for its breadth of vision. The candidates were selected meticulously,” said League national working secretary E T Mohammed Basheer MP. He agreed that the candidates’ list is a fitting response to the wild allegations levelled at the party recently.
Ashraf Kadakkal, author and Islamic historian, observed that secularism is the biggest asset of IUML. “The list is fairly good. While sharing a common platform with other marginalised communities such as Dalits and fishermen, IUML was accused of a non-inclusive approach. The leadership might have wanted to address this,” said Kadakkal. He also noted that the recent attack on League, citing IUML leader Sadik Ali Thangal’s controversial write-up on Hagia Sophia mosque in Istanbul, too had an effect. “That anti-christian remark was clearly part of a BJP propaganda,” he said.
Kadakkal rubbished the charge that the League is dominating the UDF. “It was the League workers who worked tirelessly for the victory of Rahul Gandhi, Rajmohan Unnithan and K Muraleedharan in Wayanad, Kasaragod and Vadakara, respectively, in the last general elections. These leaders had openly acknowledged the role played by League. That work was borne out of League workers’ sincere efforts towards ensuring the victory of the front. But a wrong interpretation was given by political opponents,” he added.
Dalit thinker Sunny M Kapikad noted that IUML’s candidate list reflected the survival instinct of the party. “The Muslim League is facing a major political crisis amid a fast saffronising Congress and CPM. Currently, it is necessary for the party to be more inclusive towards Dalits and other marginalised communities. The party coming out in the open against reservation for the poor among the upper caste was a significant move,” he said.
However, Adivasi Gothra Maha Sabha (AGMS) leader M Geethanandan termed IUML a casteist party like the CPM and the Congress. “If not, the IUML would have fielded C K Janu in the 2006 assembly polls after the latter approached them. That would have brought in a far reaching positive impact on minority-Dalit politics,” he told TNIE.