KOZHIKODE: The electoral understanding between Welfare Party of India (
WPI
), the political arm of the Jama’at-e-Islami, and
UDF
has run into rough weather with
Congress central leadership opposing any such arrangement.
Party leaders have been singing in different tunes when asked about the tie-up.
AICC
general secretary K C Venugopal is the latest to come out against seat adjustments with WPI.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Venugopal said Congress does not approve of any tie-up with communal organizations and the state unit of the party has no power to overrule the position of the central leadership.
KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran
, AICC general secretary Oommen Chandy and V D Satheesan MLA are toeing the central leadership’s line, even as UDF convener M M Hassan and K Muraleedharan MP assert the compromise was sanctioned by the political affairs committee of the party. Hassan said Mullappally was aware of the understanding. But the KPCC chief refuted the allegation, even going to the extent of saying that action will be taken against those who promote such arrangements.
However,
Indian Union Muslim League
(IUML), which initiated seat-arrangement talks with WPI, is getting increasingly agitated over the row. It believes the Congress move is part of plans to isolate it in the event of an electoral debacle. IUML leaders have maintained that discussions with Jama’at-e-Islami were with the knowledge of the UDF leadership.
Though senior Congress leaders are feigning ignorance, the UDF-WPI understanding in various local bodies is an open secret. Moreover, many Congress leaders have attended campaign meetings of the combine.
Congress is trying to distance itself from the tie-up because it fears that acknowledging a relationship with Jama’at could antagonize the traditional vote bank of the UDF.
Many Muslim organizations had expressed reservations over UDF getting cosy with Jama’at. Both Sunni factions and all Mujahid groups openly opposed the move ‘to give credibility to an organization’ which they have been fighting for decades.
The Kanthapuram faction of the Sunnis is openly campaigning against the Jama’at. The sect’s EK faction, which is traditionally loyal to IUML, is also not happy with the tie-up. The Mujahids have opposed the UDF-WPI association, too.
IUML had taken the initiative overlooking these oppositions. Samastha
Kerala Jam-Iyyathul Ulema president Syed Muhammad Jifri Muthukoya Thangal warned that IUML is free to choose its allies, but it should also be ready to face the consequences.
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