The three major candidates from the Malappuram Lok Sabha constituency are linked in more ways than one. But, it is unlikely to affect their attempts to score a political point in the constituency, an Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) stronghold.
United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate E.T. Mohammed Basheer has close relatives in Kozhikode’s Kodiyathur, which is also the native village of V. Vaseef, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate. Both Mr. Vaseef and Mr. Basheer are the alumni of the same upper primary school in Kodiyathur. M. Abdul Salam, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate, was the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calicut when Mr. Basheer handled the Education department in the second Oommen Chandy Ministry. Mr. Vaseef, State president of the Democratic Youth Federation of India, is also a former chairperson of the Calicut University students’ union.
As the election campaign is heating up in the constituency, implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act is among the major issues being taken up by the LDF, which is also organising night marches to drive home its point. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan addressed an event in Malappuram recently to reiterate that the law wouldn’t be implemented in Kerala. Though the UDF is also highlighting the issue, their campaign is also against the alleged anti-people policies of the governments in power.
