The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) on Sunday strived to fend off the accusation that it had attempted to supplant Congress as the dominant partner in the United Democratic Front (IUML).
IUML general secretary P.K. Kunhalikutty said his party would not fall for Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's ploy to create divisions in the UDF. The IUML had decided not to get drawn into the internal mechanics of the Congress. Moreover, it would restrict its view on the workings of alliance partners strictly within the confines of the UDF.
In a Facebook post, IUML Malappuram district secretary Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal said his party had always strived to keep the Congress in the front. It had never aspired to usurp the position of the Congress in the UDF.
Meanwhile, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) vice president V.D. Satheeshan slammed Mr. Vijayan for "attempting" to stoke fear of Islam to open the door for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Kerala.
Mr. Vijayan was in lockstep with the aim of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to create a "Congress-rid" India. The Chief Minister had adapted a hard-right stance to attract the Hindu votes he had lost due to the government's intractable position on preserving the ancient traditions of the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple.
Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan said Mr. Vijayan had said nothing new. The IUML had already assumed the dominant position in the UDF. It now aspired to control a weakened Congress in Kerala. He alleged that the Congress, CPI(M) and IUML had worked in tandem to single out and defeat BJP candidates in the local body polls.
