New challenges in UDF citadel

April 03, 2014 02:24 am | Updated November 27, 2021 06:54 pm IST - MALAPPURAM:

United Democratic Front candidate in the Malappuram Lok Sabha constituency E. Ahamed among the voters.

United Democratic Front candidate in the Malappuram Lok Sabha constituency E. Ahamed among the voters.

Malappuram is reeling under more summer heat than poll fever. The electoral scene in this Muslim-dominated Lok Sabha constituency is active and vibrant, but not as hot as that in the neighbouring Ponnani and Wayanad constituencies.

Although there are 10 candidates in the fray in Malappuram, each one of them appears to be approaching the electorate at their own pace. None seems to have locked horns with anyone. Each candidate has his/her own agenda, notwithstanding the fact that winning remains the ultimate objective.

Indian Union Muslim League’s incumbent MP E. Ahamed is seeking re-election from Malappuram offering reassurances to the voters on what remains to be done in matters affecting them at national and international levels.

The issues of expatriates have often been coming to the fore in Malappuram, and Nitaqat has become a pet word for almost all candidates. When opponents charge him with failure as Union Minister of State for External Affairs in taking up the cause of the thousands of Nitaqat victims expelled from Saudi Arabia, Mr. Ahamed parries it by recounting the positive interventions he made. “We have suffered a lot because of the Nitaqat. And many more from this region are still in anguish in Saudi Arabia. I believe our Minister (Mr. Ahamed) could have done much more," said N. Mohammed Kutty, a former expatriate.

Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate P.K. Sainaba, the main opponent of Mr. Ahamed, is going into the interiors of Malappuram projecting her ‘ordinary woman’ image. Cheerful and quick in connecting the people, Ms. Sainaba has been focusing on local issues such as shortage of water, lack of higher education facilities and backwardness of the region. “Those who represented you for the past several years have done little for your progress,” she sums up during her campaign without resorting to any personal attack against Mr. Ahamed.

While the IUML believes that the LDF’s woman candidacy in minority dominant Malappuram will be an advantage for the UDF, Ms. Sainaba says that being a woman, she is able to reach out to women voters in the constituency and brushes aside the early personal attacks against her in the name of her secular clothing habits.

The BJP candidate N. Sreeprakash is campaigning across the constituency highlighting what Mr. Ahamed promised but never delivered. Even when speaking about the importance of voting the BJP to power, Mr. Sreeprakash tries to expose both the UDF and LDF. It needs to be seen whether he can improve the BJP's vote share in Malappuram from the 4.6 per cent of 2009.

The electioneering of two new players - Nasaruddin Elamaram of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), and P. Ismail of the Welfare Party of India - is evoking much interest. Both are raising issues concerning the minorities and the failure of the incumbent in addressing them. Both are trying their best to carve into the neutral as well as the communal votes of Malappuram, with their eyes firmly set on future elections. The SDPI is projecting an alternative to the existing UDF-LDF formula by spearheading a joint front of Muslims and Dalits.

Mr. Ahamed and his election managers appear confident of repeating a big win, especially with the Sunni votes of both factions poised to be polled in his favour. In 2009, Mr. Ahamed had won from Malappuram by 1,15,597 votes. All major players have an eye on the 1,78,567 new voters in Malappuram. New entrants like SDPI and Welfare Party have high hopes about the new voters. “I'm sure the new generation will not be happy with the traditional LDF-UDF formula. They want change,” said Mr. Nasaruddin.

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