By Abdul Basith, TwoCircles.net,
Thiruvananthapuram: It took many by surprise in Kerala that no Congress leaders from the state visited or campaigned for the party in Gujarat assembly elections despite the state having an 11.5 lakh Malayalam speaking population [according to Federation of Gujarat Malayali Association (FEGMA)].
The only exception was Shanimol Usman, AICC member from Kerala, as she was part of the Congress Central Committee team entitled to lead election campaigns in Gujarat.
Under normal conditions, the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee [KPCC] on directions from AICC takes special care to send local Congress leaders to states having considerable Malayali populations ahead of assembly elections in those states. But this time nothing as such happened with respect to Gujarat.
The strange tactics adopted by the Congress leadership in Kerala turned controversial after the Malayalam news daily Thejas did a special report, accusing that the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee [KPCC] leaders were discouraged by few communal organisations within Kerala, from visiting Gujarat and campaigning against Modi.
The daily alleges that the state Congress leadership succumbed to the pressure tactics adopted by Nair Service Society [NSS] and Shree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam [SNDP].
The NSS and SNDP recently having decided to work together for the unification of Hindu community emphasising on the need to attain political influence to overcome the minority community influences in Kerala politics; were found asking their Gujarat units to support Modi, as they already have several branches and societies working under them in Ahmadabad and elsewhere in Gujarat.
The Shree Narayana Cultural Mission runs college and school at Ahmadabad and NSS have many societies working under them in Gujarat, especially in regions with higher Malayali population.
The daily accuses the NSS and SNDP of having warned the Congress leaders in Kerala to keep themselves away from visiting Gujarat and campaigning against Modi, saying that those violating will not receive any further support from the organisation.
TwoCircles.net contacted senior Congress leader and KPCC Vice President MM Hassan to take his comment on the controversy. Hassan said, “It is on AICC direction the Congress leaders from the Kerala undertakes such election campaigns in other states and the Malayalee population in those states is the factor determining such decisions. Shanimol Usman has lived in Gujarat for long and AICC might have found her apt for election campaigns there.”
He added, “There is nothing like NSS, SNDP pressure tactics behind the state congress leaders not taking part in Gujarat election campaigns and I believe the decision is purely organisational.”
When reminded that Gujarat has an 11.5 lakh Malayalee population, he said that he too had asked KPCC President Ramesh Chennithala about going for an election campaign to Gujarat to which Ramesh replied saying that ‘there are no AICC directions on that regard.’
Hassan said that they have undertaken election campaigns as a team for Congress in states like Karnataka and that anytime they are happy to be part of a congress team to campaign in Gujarat, as and when asked by the leadership.
He added that he is not happy with the performance of the Gujarat congress committee as they are still not able to bring up an able leadership to challenge Modi and BJP.
TCN also contacted AICC member from Kerala Shanimol Usman, part of the team sent by the Congress Central Committee to lead election campaigns in Gujarat and she was unwilling to make any comment over the controversy.
She said that it is not a burning issue as to whether any Congress leaders from south India took part in election campaigns in Gujarat or not. On told by TCN that the issue has relevance taking into consideration whether there were any pressure tactics keeping the Kerala state leadership away from campaigning against Modi among the Malayalee population in Gujarat, she replied that it has no relevance and hence she doesn’t want to make a comment over this row, because she considered this an unwanted controversy.
The BJP Central Executive Committee member from Kerala – Alphons Kannanthanam, BJP Kerala state committee president – V Muralidharan were found camping in those Malayalee centres in Gujarat days ahead of the polling. Former BJP state committee president CK Pathmanabhan and state spokesperson George Kurien too visited Gujarat and campaigned for Modi among the Kerala population.
The BJP language cell convener in Gujarat – Mohan B Nair, who himself is a Malayalee says, 90 percent Malayalees in Gujarat irrespective of political differences supported Modi in this election.
FEGMA says Ahmadabad has a Malayalee population of 2 lakh, Surat- 1.5 lakh and Vadodara – 75,000. Besides there are so many Malayalee’s residing at regions like Anand, Vapi and Angaleshwar as well.
There are seven Congress ministers from Kerala in the union ministry, two of which are cabinet ranks. Even they refrained from campaigning in Gujarat.
The KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala, who had in the past campaigned for Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal, too preferred to stay back.
[With inputs from Thejas article by MP Vinod]