Poll debacle shatters INL dream

By R. Madhavan Nair

KOZHIKODE MAY 17. This Assembly election has been particularly cruel on the Indian National League. It finds itself politically battered and bruised quite contrary to the expectations of its leadership which had hoped to see the party emerge as a major force in the State.

Besides taking a bad beating in the electoral arena, the INL is being blamed for having spoiled LDF's chances considerably. A section of LDF leaders has even started questioning the wisdom of the electoral alliance struck with the INL which is considered by many as a communal outfit.

Senior communist leaders like Mr. A. B. Bardhan tried their best to dispel such an impression from public mind portraying the INL as secular party in his election speeches.

It was not difficult to deduce from some statements made by leaders like Mr. Bardhan that they were speaking on the basis of wrong information about the INL given by campaign managers.

Mr. Bardhan went around defending LDF's tie-up with the INL saying that it was necessary to defeat Muslim militant outfits like the National Development Front (NDF).

Such statements were being made at press conferences at a time when it was known to all that many leaders of the INL were active in the NDF also. The election results showed that the performance of INL candidates was pathetic. The LDF did not make any significant gains in terms of the votes polled in the three seats where its candidate were supported by the INL, compared to the previous election.

There is reason to believe that many non-committed voters who had backed the LDF in the last election voted against the INL candidates in this election though they had contested under the LDF banner.

The INL nominees were fielded in Tirur, Kannur and Nilambur as LDF candidates. Except in Kannur, the margin of victory registered by the UDF candidates showed a significant increase compared to the 1996 election.

The decision to back the LDF was not in line with the general mood prevailing in the party. There are reports indicating that many expressed their dissent by voting against CPI(M) candidates.

Reports indicate that a large number of INL votes were cast against the CPI(M) candidate and probably went to the BJP in Kasaragod constituency in this election.

INL detractors have alleged that this could be the only explanation for the BJP's tally increasing there. In panchayats like Chengala where the INL enjoys a good following, the votes polled for the BJP showed an increase in this election. The INL was offered Kasaragod seat to contest but had declined the offer.

The INL leadership is now being accused of having ignored the anti-CPI(M) mood prevailing among its supporters. Party insiders say that even the INL chief, Mr. Ibrahim Sulaiman Sait, had his own doubts about the wisdom of the decision to back the LDF. Though it was made known that Mr. Sait had endorsed the decision to support the LDF, he was not present at the press conference in Kochi at which it was announced.

Many in the INL want their party to merge with the Indian Union Muslim League. But the merger is being blocked by a few in the top leadership. Leaders such as Mr. S.A. Puthiyavalappil, president, and Mr. P.M.A. Salam, party State general secretary, are dead against the merger proposal. Both were once members of the defunct All India Muslim League, a breakaway group of the IUML which later returned to the parent organisation in 1986.

When the IUML split again on the party stand on demolition of the Babri Masjid, the former AIML elements joined Mr. Ibrahim Sulaiman Sait in forming the INL. This group still harbours its anti-IUML sentiments and wants the party to remain independent. Leaders like Mr. Puthiyavalappil has gone on record saying that he would rather join the Janata Dal than return to the IUML.

The decision to back the LDF may have further eroded INL's votebank because this decision was taken when there were widespread complaints about Marxist atrocities against Muslims in Nadapuram. Even the People's Democratic Party had thrown its weight behind the UDF protesting against the LDF's attitude towards minorities.

The INL was never considered a major force but it was given credit for having small pockets of influence in parts of Kasaragod. The debacle suffered by the LDF in the Assembly poll has dimmed its image further. The INL leaders now have to muster all the resources at their command to pull the party out of the rut into which it has fallen.

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Section  : State Elections
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