By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) Tuesday said the new found alliance between Abdul Nasir Maudany and the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) will help consolidate Muslim votes in favour of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF).
“We have been meeting heads of several Muslim social and religious groups and we have got the feedback that there will be a Muslim consolidation against this new tie up. In the 2006 assembly polls, many of these groups were against the UDF and this time this is going to help us,” said IUML general secretary P.K. Kunhalikutty.
IUML is a constituent of the opposition UDF in Kerala.
The Maudany-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the CPI-M have formed an alliance ahead of the April 16 Lok Sabha elections in the state’s 20 seats.
Maudany, once a fiery Muslim leader, has been criticising the IUML ever since he was convicted of terror charges and released from jail in 2007.
He was accused of being linked to the 1998 serial bombings in Coimbatore.
Kunhalikutty denied Maudany’s accusations that the IUML was a communal party.
“We have in our party people from every section of the society. We have as our members hundreds from other religion. Our party name has Muslim in it but our ideology is not like that,” said Kunhalikutty.
Maudany, 43, had alleged that the oldest Muslim political party in Kerala was desperate because he has started exposing their poor track record.
The IUML has traditionally dominated the political scene in Malappuram.