Displeasure continues within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the choice of its candidate for the upcoming Malappuram Lok Sabha by-election.
The State leadership’s choice of N. Sreeprakash has not gone down well with the party hierarchy in the district, which preferred another person with potential to make a deeper impact in the Muslim majority constituency. Sources within the party said that they strongly suspected a tacit understanding at higher level to make things easy for the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) bigwig P.K. Kunhalikutty.
Taking cue from senior leader O. Rajagopal, MLA, who reportedly argued against fielding a local man, some BJP leaders told The Hindu that the party was doing a blunder by not taking the Malappuram by-election seriously. They said the party should have capitalised on the nation-wide wave it created by fielding a candidate with better firepower and bolder image.
“It’s a by-election, and not a general election, where all parties will invoke their State and national resources, including leaders. But it’s sad that we are approaching the election without much enthusiasm,” said a State leader, seeking anonymity. Some party leaders are of the opinion that this would have been the best time for the party to brandish an issue like triple talaq in Malappuram. “If we can win seats like Dadri and Moradabad, then why not make a try in Malappuram,” said one of them.
They believed that the party should field a candidate who could effectively use an issue like triple talaq in the IUML bastion. They said the BJP had won many Muslim majority seats in Uttar Pradesh by focusing on certain sensitive issues affecting the community. “If we can’t use triple talaq in a place like Malappuram now, we won’t get a better chance,” they said. They said the candidature of a local man like Mr. Sreeprakash would only help a bigwig like Mr. Kunhalikutty, whose solid political experience and the perceived secular image are believed to be potent enough to canvas even Hindu votes.
