Congress leaders Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala visited Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) national chairman and State president Sayed Hyderali Shihab Thangal at his residence at Panakkad near here on Wednesday.
The early-morning joint visit by Mr. Chandy and Mr. Chennithala lasted for half an hour. IUML national general secretary P.K. Kunhalikutty and State general secretary K.P.A. Majeed too were present.
IUML leaders said that it was a courtesy meeting by the Congress leaders and that they did not discuss anything serious or political.
“It was a friendly meeting. They often come here. There’s nothing special,” said Mr. Thangal.
However, Mr. Kunhalikutty hinted that the Congress leaders had initiated some serious talks about the elections. “During the friendly talks, they discussed matters that ought to be discussed with Thangal. But it was not a discussion on seat-sharing,” Mr. Kunhalikutty said.
He said the IUML-Congress leaders discussed the current political situation in the State. “Unofficial talks about seat-sharing are currently on. We will have a formal sitting at Thiruvananthapuram, where we will finalise everything,” Mr. Kunhalikutty said.
The joint visit of Mr. Chandy and Mr. Chennithala to Panakkad has assumed significance especially in the wake of the displeasure expressed by the IUML about the poor performance by the Congress in the recently held civic body elections.
When the IUML guarded its strongholds, the Congress was perceived to have had a dismal electoral outcome. Soon after the civic body results, Mr. Kunhalikutty had hinted at the necessity of the Congress bucking up for the victory of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in the upcoming Assembly elections.
Meanwhile, the IUML appears set to up the ante by asking for more seats in the Assembly election. The party justifies its demand for more seats especially in the wake of the departure of the Kerala Congress(M) led by Jose K. Mani from the UDF.
“We will certainly be asking for more seats in the current scenario. We will ask for seats that we can win for the UDF by using our resources,” said K.P.A. Majeed.
