Malappuram: BJP Fields a Muslim Candidate, But Can it Succeed in IUML Bastion?

Dr Abdul Salam joined the BJP in 2019 "because he was mesmerised by PM Modi".

Dr Abdul Salam will be contesting against Indian Union of Muslim League's (IUML) ET Mohammed Basheer and CPI(M)'s V Vaseef. The constituency has historically been a bastion of the IUML, which is part of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala.

(Photo: Kamran Akhter/The Quint)

When the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its first list of 195 candidates for the Lok Sabha elections last week, the candidate for one seat – Kerala's Malappuram constituency – stood out. After all, 71-year-old Dr Abdul Salam is the party's sole Muslim candidate on the list.

An academic-turned-politician, Salam joined the BJP in 2019 "despite never having an iota of interest in politics, because he was mesmerised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi," he told The Quint.

Since July 2022, the BJP has not had a single Muslim MP in either the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha.

"The party is yet to release its candidates for over 300 seats. The leadership is looking for quality people ... I am not saying it will, but it may [have other Muslim candidates]," he said.

Salam will contest against Indian Union Muslim League's (IUML) ET Mohammed Basheer and CPI(M)'s V Vaseef. Malappuram constituency – even when it was Manjeri before delimitation – has historically been a bastion of the IUML, which is part of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala.

Who Is Dr Abdul Salam?

Born in Malappuram, Salam, who has a PhD, was the Vice Chancellor of Calicut University in the district from 2011 to 2015. He was reportedly chosen by the IUML for the post when the UDF was in power in Kerala.

In 2021 – two years after he joined the BJP – Salam contested the Kerala Assembly elections from Tirur seat and lost by a margin of over 70,000 votes to IUML's Kurukkoli Moideen.

Salam is also the national vice president of the BJP's Minority Morcha. When asked about the controversial remarks made by certain BJP leaders – including Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma – on the party "not needing Muslim voters," he said:

"India is a huge country with the largest population in the world. There are 115 crore Hindus. What you have to understand is that they are not a homogenous group, they don't have the same outlook and the same 'Modi way' of thinking and behaviour."

"There are hardline Hindus, perhaps due to ignorance or illiteracy or narrow thinking. Such people are there, they will behave like that. That is not the character of the BJP," he said.

He also added that the building of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya is "not an issue" among Muslims in Kerala. "It was an issue, but it is no longer one. It is legally settled. Even the Muslim leadership has said that it is a legally settled issue. Don't bind them with the Ram Mandir temple and put them in a difficult spot. It is a manufactured issue," he claimed.

Why BJP Can't Breach Malappuram

Salam, however, admits that the Muslim-dominated Malappuram is a "difficult seat" for the BJP. "All the 20 seats in Kerala are difficult seats [for the BJP], but this particular seat is the most difficult one," he told The Quint.

At least 70 percent of the population in Malappuram is Muslim. But this is only the second time that the BJP has fielded a Muslim candidate in the Lok Sabha elections. In 2009, it fielded N Aravindan, in 2014 and the 2017 byelection, N Sreeprakash contested for the BJP, and in 2019, the party fielded Unnikrishan. 

In the 2021 byelection, the party got AP Abdullakutty to contest but ended up disappointed. Abdullakutty, who is the party's national vice president, came third by garnering 68,935 votes. The Malappuram seat went to senior IUML leader Abdussamad Samadani.

In all these elections, the BJP had come in a distant third place, with the IUML and the CPI(M) occupying the first and second spots.

Speaking to The Quint, senior journalist MP Basheer said:

"Just because the BJP fielded a Muslim candidate in Malappuram, it is not going to make any difference for them. Before this, in some local elections, they fielded Muslim candidates and lost. Abdullakutty lost in the 2021 bypolls as well. At the national level, fielding a Muslim candidate in Kerala might work for them in terms of optics. But it will not make any difference in Malappuram electorally."

There are two reasons for this, he explains. "Firstly, Malappuram is an IUML stronghold. Secondly, Muslims in Kerala are organised. They are either influenced by Muslim political organisations or community/religious organisations. The presence of these organisations is very strong in Kerala and they impact the way Muslims vote. Some sections also fall under secular parties like the CPI(M) and the Congress."

"There is hardly any Muslim vote bank in Kerala which is not oriented to political or community organisations – and it is very difficult for the BJP to change that, especially with their consistent anti-minority stances," he opined.

There is, in fact, an observation among political experts that Muslims, who have been largely voting for the UDF in Kerala, may move away from it owing to some Congress leaders 'cosying up' to the BJP – Padmaja Venugopal and Anil Antony defecting to the saffron party to name a few.

Onmanorama quoted a survey as saying that nearly 50 percent of Muslims voted for the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Central Tranvancore (Pathanamthitta, Kollam, and Alappuzha) in the 2021 Assembly elections. In 2016, their vote share in the region was 25 percent. However, the UDF may hold an edge at the Lok Sabha level as has been the pattern since 2014.

The IUML, meanwhile, has interchanged its Ponnani and Malappuram sitting MPs this election. Mohammed Basheer, who was the Ponnani MP for three terms since 2009, reportedly sought the Malappuram seat. Samadani, who is the sitting Malappuram MP, will contest from Ponnani this time.

It may be recalled that in 2004 – when the IUML moved late E Ahamed from Manjeri (which became Malappuram after delimitation) to Ponnani – the party lost the parliamentary elections for the first time in the constituency. CPI(M)'s TK Hamza had defeated IUML's KPA Majeed then.

On the other hand, the CPI(M)'s Vaseef, who is the state president of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), is fighting his first election from Malappuram. In an interview with The Hindu, Vaseef claimed that the Left government has "taken stronger stances" against Hindutva politics than the Congress and the IUML in the state.