LDF on back foot in Malappuram
The swing in the Muslim votes may give a fillip to the UDF's fortunes and its hopes of a record LS majority of the UDF in the state.
MALAPPURAM: The consolidation of Muslim votes in the Malappuram Lok Sabha by-election is all set to put the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) on the back foot with an erosion of trust in the minority community. All the major Muslim organisations and fringe political parties including some of the Left parties have decided to back UDF candidate P.K. Kunhalikutty considering the political scenario in the state and at the Centre. The LDF’s enormous strides in the UDF and Muslim League dominated district during the 2016 assembly elections may not help them much this time since it faces trust deficit after many of the government and police moves drawing tremendous flak.
The murder of neo-convert Pullani Faisal in Kodinhi last year, the police atrocities in Tanur coastal villages and the most recent killing of a Madrasa teacher in Kasargod would influence the lion's share of the voters in Malappuram as something sinister in the police moves. The prime accused in the Faisal murder case Madathil Narayanan, an RSS Pracharak in Tirur who was convicted by Kerala High Court in the Tirur Yasir Murder case of 1998, was acquitted by the Supreme Court in July barely two months after the LDF government came to power. The prosecution failure and the pitfalls in the police investigation supposedly led to the acquittal, many had observed. Narayanan’s arrest in the Faisal Murder case in February was followed by several protests by the all-party local action council.
The SDPI and Welfare Party which had a combined vote share of more than 77,000 and is above the BJP’s vote share of 64,705 votes in 2014 have not fielded their candidates this time. A significant share of these votes may also swing in UDF’s favour. The large-scale erosion of the SDPI and Welfare parties combined vote share, and massive fall in the UDF’s majorities in the 2016 assembly election had helped the LDF in a big way, though they could not win any segment in this parliamentary constituency. However, the steady growth of BJP votes and communally charged killings involving BJP and RSS workers during the ten-month rule of the LDF has instigated a sense of insecurity among the minority. Altogether, the swing in the Muslim votes may give a fillip to the UDF's fortunes and its hopes of a record LS majority of the UDF in the state.