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The Hindu
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
West Bengal CPI(M) leaders meet family of girl killed in Kaliganj bomb explosion
Leaders of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), including the party's State secretary Md. Salim, on Saturday met the family of the girl who was killed in the Kaliganj bomb explosion on June 23. Mr. Salim was accompanied by Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) State president Meenakshi Mukherjee, who met the family members. They have proclaimed their allegiance to the CPI(M). Election to the Kaliganj Assembly seat was held on June 19, and on June 23, before the results were declared, a crude bomb hurled at the house of Tammana Khatun, 9, took her life. The police have claimed that the bombs were hurled from celebratory processions. The by-election saw the Trinamool Congress candidate, Alfa Ahmed, winning the election with a margin of over 50,000 votes. Speaking at a public gathering, Mr. Salim questioned why the area had not been sanitised, and all bombs and ammunition removed, during the elections. 'I ask the local police here — there are so many police here today because we are here. Where were you when this incident happened? The authorities — SDO (Sub Divisional Magistrate), DM (District Magistrate), IC (Inspector-in-Charge) — their job is to maintain law and order in the State, following the Constitution, and conducting fair elections. They have failed massively. We are asking for a proper investigation,' the CPI(M) State secretary said. Those who threw bombs during celebratory processions were criminals, and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's government was promoting such elements, Ms. Mukherjee said. Khatun's family members said they were targeted because they were supporters of the CPI(M). The police have arrested five persons in connection with the incident. On Saturday, four more persons were arrested, taking the number of those arrested to nine. Among those arrested on Saturday were were local Trinamool leaders Gawal Sheikh, and his son Bimal Sheikh. Khatun's mother, Sabina Yasmin, has identified Mr. Sheikh as the prime accused. 'Gawal is the main mastermind here. The bomb attack happened on his orders. But there are people above him as well — the police should investigate that, too. If he is interrogated, the police will learn everything,' Ms. Yasmin said Criminals do not belong to any political party, the TMC's Krishnanagar organisational district chairman Rukbanur Rahman said. 'It doesn't matter which party someone supports. The horrific incident that occurred should be met with exemplary punishment. As a party, we demand that from the police,' Mr. Rahman said.
The Print
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Print
Nilambur isn't Kerala. UDF must look beyond Muslim votes to win 2026 polls
It was PV Anvar's resignation that facilitated the by-election in the first place, even if he sought to extract his pound of flesh for extending his support to the UDF. Leaders within the Congress – such as Ramesh Chennithala and ally Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) – advocated Anvar's accommodation, with the by-poll becoming a bellwether ahead of the 2026 assembly election. On 23 June, the day of the Nilambur bypoll verdict, Satheesan watched the proceedings from the District Congress Committee (DCC) office in Ernakulam. As soon as the UDF ensured its victory, Congress leaders vied among themselves to shower praises on the LoP, led by MP Hibi Eden . It was a mark of appreciation for Satheesan, who didn't bow down to former Nilambur MLA PV Anvar's diktats and ensured a win despite the latter re-entering the fray. There is a new 'captain' in Kerala. After the Congress-led United Democratic Front wrested the Nilambur seat from the Left Democratic Front, the state media lavished praise on Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan for helming a crucial electoral win. Nevertheless, Satheesan stood his ground and took ownership of the decision to keep Anvar out. It was a marked departure from the consensual ways that have defined the Congress in recent times. The consensual approach was necessitated on account of the party's weakening organisational apparatus, leaving it at the mercy of various stakeholders and its supporters frustrated. The UDF's morale-boosting win and the credit to Satheesan prompted former LoP Ramesh Chennithala to come out publicly, stating how nobody hailed him as 'captain' when he led the UDF to bypoll victories in the past. Power struggles in the Congress aside, the UDF seems to be taking the wrong lessons from the bypoll by extrapolating it to 2026. On the contrary, the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) is leveraging even the loss to build its narrative for the upcoming assembly election. Left gambit for 2026 The Left's route to a solitary seat in successive Lok Sabha elections in 2019 and 2024 was marked by a shift in its Hindu vote base to the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). The Left has traditionally been the 'Hindu party' in Kerala, whereas the UDF has been anchored by minority communities. Unlike the 2019 elections—held in the wake of the BJP-fuelled Sabarimala agitation—the 2024 loss made the switching of Hindu voters a perpetual phenomenon. If the CPI-M initially concentrated on carving out sections of UDF's minority votes to counter the loss of its Hindu base, the 2024 loss demonstrated the urgency to hold on to its Ezhava vote bank. This prompted the Left to double down on its strategy of portraying the UDF as a front backed by communal elements such as Jamaat-e-Islami. CPI-M deployed the same tactic in last year's Palakkad and Wayanad bypolls—alleging that the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and Jamaat were responsible for UDF's victory. After the setback in Nilambur, CPI-M state secretary MV Govindan resorted to the same game plan, almost like a reflex action. The potency of this strategy has swelled on account of the polarisation between the Muslim and Christian communities in Kerala lately. The CPI-M, perhaps, believes that it can attract additional Christian votes in the bargain, along with achieving its primary goal of preventing the further erosion of its Hindu vote base. Also read: Kerala Congress is now left of Left. And confused UDF's Muslim consolidation After the Nilambur bypoll, a chuffed UDF is counting on Muslim consolidation to ensure its win in 2026. Brushing aside criticism on courting the Jamaat-e-Islami, the Congress is unwittingly aiding the Left propaganda to paint the UDF as a formation backed by an Islamist fringe. Such a portrayal can only negatively affect the prospects of the UDF in central and south Kerala—leading to massive counter-polarisation. In any case, unlike in Lok Sabha polls, Kerala Muslims do not vote en bloc for any coalition in an assembly election. The BJP has also become stronger today, leading to a split in anti-incumbency votes. What the UDF needs to do is to find the communal balance it was known to uphold historically, rather than putting all its eggs in one basket. The Congress should also figure out why the 'Muslim front' label continues to stick to the UDF—allowing the Left and the BJP to harness it successfully. Even in 2021, the LDF had floated the narrative of the tail wagging the dog; of the IUML driving the UDF's agenda. This was after IUML's PK Kunhalikutty chose to contest the assembly poll despite being a sitting Lok Sabha MP, eyeing the post of deputy chief minister. This narrative affected the UDF's prospects badly, with the Church-backed Kerala Congress (Mani) switching to the Left on the eve of that election and upsetting a delicate communal balance. Also read: How VD Satheesan's leadership won Congress Nilambur, and silenced his detractors Ebrahim Kunju's speech On closer analysis, it can be evaluated that the communal balance that anchored the UDF was lost further back; to be precise, in 2012. It started with the IUML's ill-thought-out strategy to leverage its numbers and the UDF's wafer-thin majority in order to demand a fifth Cabinet berth after the 2011 assembly election. Aryadan Muhammed, then a minister in Oommen Chandy's council of ministers, had publicly forewarned the Congress of the ramifications of being browbeaten into it. Chandy ill-advisedly acceded to IUML's demand to keep it in good humour. The move created a furore within the Congress. And it got worse when a sound bite of IUML minister VK Ebrahim Kunju played on TV news bulletins six months later. On 6 October 2012, at a party convention in Palakkad, Ebrahim Kunju had stated: 'There is a narrative that the IUML is ruling Kerala, that the party is controlling the UDF, and that is a fact'. And that opened a Pandora's box. Vellappally Natesan and Sukumaran Nair—general secretaries of Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam and Nair Service Society (NSS), respectively—came out publicly against it, calling for Hindu unity and accusing the Chandy government of being a pro-minority dispensation. Nair also contributed to the famous 'Ku-Ku-Ku' analogy of the state being ruled by three Ks: Kunjoonju (Chandy), Kunjumani (KM Mani), and Kunhalikkutty. This was chorused by Natesan and later invoked by the Left ahead of the election to portray the UDF as a 'minority front'. Also read: Where does Shashi Tharoor fit in Kerala Congress? His timing is always off Jamaat dalliance will backfire With the deaths of Oommen Chandy and KM Mani, and the latter's party joining the LDF subsequently, the 'minority front' label in 2016 came to be replaced with 'Muslim front' in 2021. Congress has been undertaking efforts to rid the UDF of this charge, recently appointing Sunny Joseph as the party's state chief, and foregrounding Nair faces as chief ministerial candidates. However, by taking Jamaat-e-Islami's support in Nilambur, the UDF has set itself back in this endeavour irredeemably. The UDF may have managed to override the charge of Jamaat dalliance in Nilambur—by invoking the Abdul Nasar Madany-led People Democratic Party (PDP)'s support to the CPI-M, and the Jamaat's history of backing the Left for three decades. However, this strategy cannot be replicated in the forthcoming local body polls or the assembly election for several reasons. First, the Left will keep chipping away at the Congress for being soft on the Islamist fringe, deploying the likes of Vellappally Natesan and Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musliyar to attack the UDF from both flanks. The CPI-M's brilliance at setting narratives and getting the party machinery and the Left ecosystem to relay it to the grassroots cannot be matched by the Congress. Second, unlike the AP Sunnis led by Musliyar, who back the Left for organisational growth and material benefits, the Jamaat-e-Islami's support for the UDF is solely to further its nefarious agendas. Third, regardless of the Jamaat's history of backing the Left, Malayalis today judge it through the prism of MediaOne—the news channel promoted by Jamaat—and Out of Focus, its editorial show with a phenomenal reach. Also read: Pinarayi Vijayan's double-speak on women's security needs to be called out Jamaat's nefarious agendas Out of Focus doesn't just engage in propaganda for Islamist insurgency movements across the world; the show even takes up cudgels on behalf of SDPI or cleric-politician Abdul Nasar Ma'dani in Kerala. A Jamaat member told me on condition of anonymity that 'This isn't surprising. It is a Maududian (referring to Jamaat-e-Islami founder Syed Abul A'la Maududi) concept.' Essentially, what Out of Focus has set out to accomplish is to make liberal Kerala Muslims militant in character, in line with the Jamaat's core principles. The show has the potential to drive a wedge among Kerala's different communities. And there is every chance that a moderate Muslim watching it regularly would end up becoming a hardliner without even registering it. Ironically, the Jamaat seems to be using the IUML—which it has routinely targeted for its moderate positions—as a vehicle to drive its hardline agendas. While the IUML is desperate to return to power, Congress will be left to answer for the pronouncements of the three wise men on Out of Focus. This is something that Congress hasn't accounted for yet. Regardless of VD Satheesan's courage to not give in to PV Anvar's shenanigans, his decision to take Jamaat-e-Islami's support will define UDF's prospects in 2026. Anand Kochukudy is a Kerala-based journalist and columnist. He tweets @AnandKochukudy. Views are personal. (Edited by Zoya Bhatti)
Hans India
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
In Nilambur bypoll win, Congress candidate Shoukath outstrips father's electoral record
Nilambur (Kerala): Congress candidate Aryadan Shoukath, who on Monday registered a stellar victory at the Nilambur Assembly by-election in Kerala by securing 77,737 votes to win with a margin of 11,077 votes, has bettered his late father and long-time MLA Aryadan Mohammed's electoral performance. Aryadan Mohammed was a legend in Nilambur by winning a record eight times and losing thrice. However, Shoukath won the seat in his second poll battle - after losing in 2016, but his father could win only in his third attempt in the 1977 polls after losing in 1965 and 1967. In the present election, CPI-M candidate finished second, and got 66,660 votes. More importantly, the Congress-led UDF has regained Nilambur for the first time after the 2011 Assembly polls. In 2016, P.V. Anvar, fielded as a Left-backed independent candidate, beat Shoukath by 11,504 votes, and he retained the seat in 2021, defeating the then Congress candidate by 2,800 votes. This time, Anvar, whose resignation necessitated the bypoll, contested as an independent candidate and got 19,760 votes, while the BJP's candidate Mohan George ended up with 8,648 votes and forfeited his deposit money. However, Anvar surprised all with the number of votes he managed to secure. CPI-M state Secretary reflecting on the defeat, claimed that the UDF has lost votes in the bypolls said as compared to the 2021 polls. "For us, this is one constituency where we cannot win in a political fight, and we have won when we put up independent candidates. The votes for the BJP-led NDA have come down as compared to 2016, and since the BJP candidate never had a chance, their votes have gone elsewhere. Moreover, the votes of the Jamat-e-Islami, all know where they have gone from the words of the Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan. The tactic of the Congress is to use both majority and minority communalism, and has resulted in the victory of the Congress," Govindan maintained, adding that the Left worked only for secular votes, and they will go forward in the same manner. "This has nothing to do with any wave against the Left government, and we are on track to form a third successive Left government," he said, referring to the Assembly elections due next year. On his part, Satheesan said this victory is for the 'Team UDF'. 'We, right from the start of our campaign, were able to sense that there was a massive anger against the (Chief Minister Pinarayi) Vijayan government's nine years of rule. The Team UDF, comprising leaders and workers, worked very hard, and we got exactly what we had expected. We will continue to work as Team UDF as we are going to win a landslide win at the 2026 Assembly polls," he asserted.
NDTV
22-06-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
How Fringe Elements - And A Bypoll - Have Upended Kerala's Politics
'We are with Saddam Hussein. Who are you with?' EMS Namboodiripad, then general secretary of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), had said in January 1991 - the peak of the Gulf War - throwing down the gauntlet at the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) on the eve of the district council election. The Marxist party-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) went on to sweep that election in 12 of Kerala's 14 districts. As Kerala voted for the Nilambur by-election this week, communalism and dog-whistles came to dominate the political discourse of all political parties. The by-poll is very important to all stakeholders, coming as it is just months ahead of the assembly election next year. Beyond their traditional vote bases, each front has gone after typical fringe elements to ensure their win. This is happening in a state where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is a minor player even today. Marxists And Madani Any visitor to the constituency will not miss a strategically-placed giant hoarding of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) leader Abdul Nasar Madani, where he is symbolically blessing M Swaraj, the CPI-M candidate in Nilambur. Not only did the Left accept the support extended by the radical preacher, but the Marxist party - represented by state secretary MV Govindan - also extended a 'secular certificate' to the PDP, for having ostensibly toned down its extremist ways. It is another matter that social media posts of Marxists, including AA Rahim, accusing the PDP of political murders of its cadres are still visible on their profiles. No sooner had the poll bugle been sounded, videos of CPI-M Malappuram District Secretariat member, TM Siddique, appealing to all and sundry to cast their votes in favour of the Left - taking names of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and the Jamaat-e-Islami - started making the rounds on social media. When controversy arose, candidate M. Swaraj tried to water it down to say that he covets only the votes of human beings, and that 'communalists cannot be human'. Word play aside, it was clear that regardless of all the lofty talk on secularism, there was overt and covert pandering to communal elements. Congress And The Jamaat-e-Islami The UDF wasn't far behind. Congress had no qualms welcoming the support extended by the Welfare Party of India, the political wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami, in Nilambur. The Left, too, was quick to pounce on it to parry the question of PDP. Kerala Muslims - mostly Sunnis - have misgivings about the Jamaat-e-Islami's concept of political Islam and theocratic state conceived by its founder Syed Abul A'la Maududi. VD Satheesan, Kerala's Leader of Opposition, who fashions himself as a 'Nehruvian', was quick to come to the defence of the Jamaat, issuing his own 'secular certificate' to the organisation, which, to note, was banned twice by the Congress in 1975 and 1992. Satheesan says that the Jamaat has put its concept of 'Hukumat-e-Ilahi' (Divine rule) on the backburner and has fully embraced Indian democracy. But what makes Satheesan's contentions ironic is the fact that Nilambur is synonymous with Aryadan Muhammed, renowned for his secular credentials. In fact, Aryadan had made it his mission to tackle the fundamentalist elements within the Muslim fold throughout his political career, winning eight times from the constituency (1965-2016). While Aryadan was consistently sharp in his criticism of the Jamaat-e-Islami, the Popular Front of India and Madani, he did not think twice even while taking on the Indian Union Muslim League - an ally - whenever the latter went too far with its brand of identity politics. Aryadan's son, Shoukath, who is contesting the by-election on a Congress ticket, has also taken after his father, though he has no choice but to bear with this appeasement strategy of Congress. Shoukath had used the medium of films to put forth his secular ideology in the past, where he cast the Jamaat-e-Islami and Muslim orthodoxy in poor light. Meanwhile, a 2010 speech of TK Abdullah - twice the Amir of the Jamaat-e-Islami in Kerala -has been circulating on social media, in which he declares how the Jamaat has held on to its ideology steadfastly. He states that terms like 'democracy' and 'secularism' used by the organisation are mere wordplay, a 'survival tactic'. Jamaat-e-Islami's True Colours The Solidarity Youth Movement and Students Islamic Organisation of India (SIO) - feeder organisations working directly under the Jamaat-e-Islami - recently used posters of slain Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh as well as Muslim Brotherhood's Sayyid Qutb and Hassan al-Banna while taking out a protest against the Waqf Amendment Act in Calicut. The Jamaat-e-Islami's host of crimes against humanity in Bangladesh, where it was banned under the previous regime of Sheikh Hasina, are well-documented. However, the outfit's Kerala unit would argue that it has nothing to do with the organisation in Bangladesh or Pakistan. According to Congress leader KP Noushad Ali, the Congress is courting the Jamaat-e-Islami for its ability to set narratives through media ventures, such as the MediaOne news channel and Madhyamam. However, to many it would seem that the Jamaat is two-timing the Congress, or at least working at cross purposes. A close analysis of 'Out of Focus', MediaOne's editorial show with a phenomenal reach, shows how it has consistently adopted a position against the Congress on the Nilambur by-poll. PV Anvar's Shenanigans In fact, MediaOne Managing Editor (and Jamaat-e-Islami Shura member) C Dawood was seen repeatedly hitting out at Aryadan Shoukath for 'spreading Islamophobia' through acclaimed films such as Paadam Onnu Oru Vilapam (2003) and Daivanamathil (2005). Instead, the Jamaat was clearly plumping for PV Anvar, who also targeted Shoukath's films for 'going against the interests of the Muslim community'. In fact, it was the moneybag politician's resignation as the Left-backed independent MLA that had triggered the Nilambur by-election in the first place, when he pledged his support for the Congress. PV Anvar later fell out with the Congress after failing to gain entry in the UDF, and got back in the poll fray in Nilambur as an independent. Anvar is not only seen endorsing the Jamaat-e-Islami's talking points, but he also seems to have entered into a Faustian deal with the SDPI, the political wing of the proscribed PFI, to have their votes transferred in his favour. The SDPI had already named Sadik Naduthodi as its candidate before Anvar re-entered the fray, who has since chosen to contest as an independent. Whereas, Anvar has been allotted the 'scissor' symbol, previously assigned to the SDPI in Nilambur. BJP And Hindu Mahasabha One may still ignore the desperation of PV Anvar to register a decent vote share and use it as a bargaining chip going ahead, but it is difficult to fathom why Kerala's established political parties have been chasing after these fringe elements. Unlike the past, when the BJP itself was a fringe player in Kerala, the saffron party has raised its vote share to 20% in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Also, there is always the prospect of a counter-polarisation. Perhaps the fact that the Nilambur by-election is being held in the Muslim-majority Malappuram gives confidence to the Congress and the CPI-M to pander to these communal elements. But in the long term, it only raises questions about their commitment to secularism. The BJP had initially mulled sitting out the contest, but later fielded a defector, Mohan George, from the Kerala Congress (Joseph). The idea is to cater to the Congress vote base in Nilambur as part of its larger Christian outreach in Kerala. However, that move came with its own risk, as the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha extended its support to M Swaraj - on account of his Nair credentials - to protest the BJP's fielding of an 'outsider'. The Marxist party denied having held any discussion with the Hindu Mahasabha, but pictures of their representatives parleying with CPI-M Politburo member A Vijayaraghavan were viral on social media. Middle-East Reverberations In Nilambur Meanwhile, Israel's attack on Iran was also woven into the campaign narrative by the Left in Nilambur. Pinarayi Vijayan called Israel a 'rogue state' and invoked the conflict in the Middle East repeatedly in the last lap of the campaign. This was straight out of the playbook of EMS Namoothiripad in 1991 - which it also used to good effect in another by-election in Thiruvambady in 2006. Back then, the CPI-M Kerala mouthpiece, People TV, had run a 'Save Saddam campaign' on the eve of the election, only to win it by a wafer-thin margin. Swaraj's own strategy of donning a green shirt on the campaign trail and using the colour for publicity material did not go unnoticed. The CPI-M has traditionally resorted to tricks like using green graffiti to appeal to the voters in Malappuram. In this political circus, bread-and-butter issues, including the man-animal conflict in Kerala's Teak County of Nilambur, have failed to get due prominence. The deployment of communal politics in God's Own Country is the height of absurdity, and presages a bleak future for the state's secular underpinning.
Time of India
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Left parties protest against attack in Gaza
Ranchi: Dozens of protestors from left parties on Tuesday held protest in the city against Israel's attack on Gaza strip saying that the war must stop. Members of CPI, CPI-M, CPI-ML and Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) staged a march from the Sainik Market shouting slogans like 'yudh nahi shanti chhaiye (we want peace nor war)' and 'Modi Sarkar chup kyu (why is Modi govt silent)' and reached Albert Ekka Chowk where they held a meeting. tnn
