CPM's anti-Muslim campaigns helped BJP win LS seat in Kerala, alleges IUML supremo

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has launched a scathing attack against the ruling CPM alleging that its "anti-Muslim campaigns" during the Lok Sabha polls had also helped the BJP to open its account in Kerala by winning the Thrissur seat.
A key partner in the opposition Congress-led UDF, the IUML termed as a "mere joke" the Marxist party's campaign that if there was no Left, the Muslims would become second class citizens in the country.The CPM often chose "double-edged tactics" for their marketing and the "BJP reaps what the Left party sows", claimed IUML supremo Sadique Ali Shihab Thangal in an interview that appeared on party mouthpiece "Chandrika" on Saturday.
He urged everyone, including the Left party to introspect the reasons that contributed to the victory of the saffron party and its increasing vote share in Thrissur. "There are many reasons for this...One is clear...The anti-Muslim campaigns carried out by the CPM have also helped the BJP.... The BJP reaps what the CPM sows," he said.
Thangal further said that if one examines the influential areas of the IUML, everybody would be convinced about its strength to defend the Sangh Parivar ideologically. Even when the BJP won the Thrissur constituency, the Congress-UDF candidate got the majority in Guruvayoor assembly segment where the IUML has a strong presence, he pointed out during the interview.
The IUML candidate won by over one and a half lakh votes in Ramanathapuram in Tamil Nadu where the total Muslim population is just 18 per cent, in the April 26 LS polls, the leader added. The IUML had won three seats-Malappuram and Ponnani-in Kerala and Ramanathapuram in Tamil Nadu in the crucial LS polls.