KOCHI: For Dr Abdul Salam, BJP’s sole Muslim candidate in the state, each day of campaigning in the Malappuram constituency 'where over 68.3% of voters are from the Muslim community' is a trial.
During an interaction with voters in a remote village near Pulikkal, he recounted his bitter experience after attending Eid Namaz at Madin Masjid in Malappuram town.
“After the Namaz, I came outside the mosque and while extending Eid wishes, a 60-year-old man insulted me and called me a traitor. Those around me remained silent. I was heartbroken. I’m also a Muslim, but they treat me this way because I joined BJP,” Salam said.
Salam, a popular academic and former VC of Calicut University, faces challenges not just from his own community but also from his party’s disorganized machinery in Malappuram, he says.
Nevertheless, as a devoted admirer of PM Narendra Modi, Salam focuses on the developmental projects implemented by the NDA government in his campaign speeches.
On Tuesday, his campaign started with a visit to a convent in Kolathur near Kondotty, where he met Sister Ancy of Nirmala Bhavan. After a conversation, he left for a meeting in Moothedathu village.
When he approached a local RSS leader’s house for a family meeting, only about 25 people were present, half of whom were children.
As he concluded his speech, he expressed disappointment about holding campaign meetings solely in BJP-RSS strongholds.
A group of Mahila Morcha leaders asked him to attend their convention in the evening, but he was hesitant. “I’m not feeling well,” he said. When local BJP leaders mentioned he needed to visit two temples in the area, Salam replied, “What’s the point of such visits? They’re a waste of time.” He returned to his hotel room, but the persistence of the Mahila Morcha leaders prevailed.
He returned to Kondotty in the evening and attended the convention. On his way back, when he handed his candidate card to a group of women at Kottakunnu park, some promised to vote for him, while others even declined to accept the card.