: The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) will conduct a detailed inquiry into the circumstances that led to an unprecedented loss in the Koduvally Assembly constituency that had been a traditional bastion of the party. District secretary of IUML M.A. Razak was defeated by Karat Razak, an LDF-backed Independent candidate. The twist is that Mr. Karat Razak was a staunch IUML worker until the recent local body polls and had been president of the Koduvally block panchayat.
District president of the party Ummer Pandikasala told The Hindu that the loss in Koduvally was not a political failure, but some other problems had led to the defeat.
“We will check if there had been any failure on the part of the party workers or if there had been any undercurrents we were unaware of,” Mr. Pandikasala said.
He said Mr. Karat Razak knew the constituency well and his knowledge could have benefited the party if he had stayed on.
But he was about to face an inquiry after the local body polls for making a public statement against one of the party’s candidates, when he shifted his allegiance to LDF.
The UDF had lost the constituency once in 2006 when K. Muraleedharan of the Congress lost to another LDF-backed Independent P.T.A. Rahim. But, the UDF made a spectacular comeback in 2011 when V.M. Ummer of the IUML wrested the constituency.
Mr. Pandikasala also said that the loss in Thiruvambadi too was unprecedented, but the party’s candidate could not hold his ground in the strong LDF wave. Thiruvambadi was also a strong UDF bastion, though it had favoured the LDF twice in 2006 (there was a byelection after MLA Mathai Chacko died).
On the other hand, the IUML managed to snatch Kuttiady, a traditional LDF stronghold.
Its candidate Parakkal Abdulla defeated sitting MLA K.K. Lathika. Mr. Pandikasala said the victory was a result of the strong campaign the party had undertaken in the Kuttiady-Perambra-Vadakara belt after the attack on RMP candidate in Vadakara K.K.Rama, allegedly by CPI-M workers. “The victory in Kuttiady was a strong message against political violence,” he said.
