Jamaat ex-boss Nooranad Shahjahan enters BJP panel

Thiruvananthapuram: Mr Nooranad Shahjahan,  former Alappuzha district president of  Kerala Muslim Jamaat Council, has been inducted into the  BJP state committee much to the displeasure of RSS state leadership.  This was done at the instance of former BJP state president V. Muraleedharan, it is learnt.  RSS strongman and BJP organising general secretary K. R. Umakanthan has been kept out of the 134-member state committee and instead Mr L. Ganesh, RSS prachar pramukh, has been roped in.

BJP sources said  that a section of the leaders had raised the reliability of  Mr Nooranad Shahjahan  with  the RSS leadership which sought  clarifications on him. BJP state president Kummanam Rajasekharan backed him  stating that he  had rallied behind the party. The Muslim leader was closely associated with the party during Mr Muraleedharan’s election campaign in Kazhakoottam and later when Mr Kummanam courted controversy on his anti-Muslim statement. These factors enabled him to get a berth in the state committee now.

“Noorananad Shahjahan has been closely associated with the party for more than a year now. When the names of leaders were received, their veracity was checked and only then they were included in the BJP state committee,”  said a prominent BJP general secretary. The  RSS was not happy with the appointment of Mr Nooranad Shahjahan. But  Mr Kummanam trusted Mr Muraleedharan’s word. There were reports that RSS leaders had been squeezed into the  BJP state committee  which was  denied by RSS state secretary and Prantha Karyavahak P.  Gopalankutty Master.

Meanwhile, Mr Umakanthan’s exit was being anticipated as he was expecting a promotion as Kshetriya Karyakari Sadasya in charge of two states, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.  He was appointed during senior BJP leader P. P. Mukundan’s tenure a decade ago.

But when Kochi-based Ganesh has taken over Mr Umakanthan’s post, it has come as a big blow to Mr K. Subhash, the second general secretary in the BJP nominated by the RSS.  Mr Subhash, another loyalist of Mr  Muraleedharan,  was expecting to get the role of Mr Umakanthan.   The organising general secretary and the BJP state president have absolute control over the funds being released by the central BJP leadership.