MALAPPURAM: The IUML leadership believes the party has successfully established its organisational strength in southern Keralam, moving beyond its traditional Malabar stronghold, with the massive turnout at the Muslim Youth League’s (MYL) state conference in Kochi reflecting this growth.
The participation of thousands of workers from southern districts in the three-day conference has reinforced the party’s assessment that its organisational efforts have translated into a wider grassroots presence across the state.
Following the local body elections, the IUML has continued its efforts to consolidate its presence in southern Keralam through booth-level activities, membership drives and organisational restructuring. The selection of Alappuzha-based leader C Shyam Sundar as a party vice-president was also part of this strategy. The party is now looking to build on the organisational gains ahead of the next major election.
Addressing the conference, IUML general secretary P M A Salam said the party’s performance in the recent local body elections reflected its growing strength. “Looking at the seat tally from the last local body elections, the CPM won 48% of the seats it contested, while the Congress won 46%. The League, however, secured victory in 79.9% of the seats contested. This is a period when the party is growing stronger in southern districts. The level of public participation in this conference is clear evidence of that,” he said.
MYL state president Panakkad Sayyid Munavvar Ali Shihab Thangal told TNIE that the participation of workers from across southern Keralam reflected the organisational work carried out by the party over the past few years.
“From Thiruvananthapuram alone, 100 traveller buses carrying workers arrived for the final day. We are witnessing a significant rise in the party’s presence in the southern districts. Both Youth League and IUML workers have been working extensively at the booth level over the past few years, taking up outreach and membership campaigns.
More than 1 lakh workers participated in the final-day maharally, including thousands from the southern districts. This turnout is the result of the hard work of our district leadership and workers,” he said.
Shyam said the decision to hold the MYL state conference in Kochi was based on the encouraging response the party had received during its organisational activities in southern Kerala. “During the district-level conventions and organisational restructuring meetings, we saw a considerable increase in worker participation.
The local body elections also reflected the IUML’s growing presence in the southern part of the state. The positive response at district committee meetings gave us the confidence to hold the state conference in a southern district. About 1,000 to 2,000 workers from each southern district participated in the maharally and conference. We can now proudly say the IUML is no longer just a Malabar party,” he said.
