BJP’s first list of candidates for the Kerala Assembly elections to be held on May 16 -not surprisingly- has a Muslim candidate for the Malappuram constituency.
To increase their winning prospects this time, the saffron party chooses to field Baadusha Thangal who hails from the famed ‘Thangal’ family believed to be the successors of the Prophet.
In the 2011 Assembly elections too, BJP had fielded two Muslim candidates Ali Haji and CK Kunhimuhammed from the Perinthalmanna and Tirur constituencies respectively in Malappuram, both of whom lost the elections.
Though BJP has never won a single assembly seat in Kerala, Malappuram has always been an exceptionally unlucky district for the party maybe because it is the cradle of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) headed by another Thangal: Panakkad Sayed Hyderali Shihab Thangal.
Badusha is the first ‘Thangal’ candidate for the BJP in the district. “I am hopeful and I believe that this time there is a chance to win,” Baadusha Thangal told The News Minute.
He further vouched for the party’s secular credentials and reiterated that communalising the party was a mere propagandist tactic by both the Left and the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF).
“Why can’t a minority candidate contest for the BJP? We too are against communalisation. They have welcomed me whole heartedly,” he added. He also said that it was BJP’s ideology that first attracted him to the party.
He continues: “It is actually the CPI(M) who indulges in communalism in Kerala. This time BJP will certainly secure a good number of seats.”
The Minority Morcha district vice president added that his decision to contest for BJP was received positively by the Muslim community as well as the public in general.
Baadusha joined the BJP around two years ago. In 2002 he had contested as an independent candidate from the Thanur constituency in Malappuram and lost.
“Both the LDF and UDF have together eroded the political values in Kerala. People are fed up now, so they require a change. And that's exactly what the BJP has to offer,” Baadusha assured.