The Communist parties and radical Islamic forces have shared Kerala’s political space for decades. While they present themselves as different in public, they have often functioned as silent partners behind the scenes. With the Assembly elections scheduled for April, this tacit understanding appears to be resurfacing more openly, with both sides extending support to one another.
In this context, CPM General Secretary M.A. Baby has stated that the People’s Development Party (PDP), led by Abdul Nasr Madani, will support Left candidates in the upcoming polls.
Madani’s past, however, continues to draw attention. He was a key accused in the 1998 Coimbatore blast case, an attack aimed at assassinating senior BJP leader L.K. Advani, who later went on to become Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Bharat.
The history of the PDP and its leader remains well known. Notably, Madani was arrested during the tenure of senior CPM leader E.K. Nayanar, who was then Chief Minister and held the Home portfolio, in connection with the Coimbatore blasts.
Despite this background, M.A. Baby has now asserted that Abdul Nasr Madani and his PDP have “changed”, and that the CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) is benefiting from their support in the imminent elections.
Madani spent nearly nine years in prison in connection with the Coimbatore case. He was later arrested again in 2010 in connection with the Bengaluru blast and other related cases, leading to further years of incarceration. His eventual release on bail came on medical grounds, subject to strict conditions due to serious health issues.
Madani’s inflammatory speeches were infamous. However, when he was released from Coimbatore jail, senior CPM leaders shared the dais with him in Thiruvananthapuram, where he was accorded a warm welcome. Later, during the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, the then CPM State Secretary, Pinarayi Vijayan, also shared the dais with Madani during the election campaign.
M.A. Baby disclosed his party’s latest stand while speaking to the media on March 28.
Abdul Nasr Madani played a key role in injecting fanaticism and anti-national sentiments among the youth. His earlier organisation was the Islamic Swayamsevak Sangh (ISS). When it was banned by the Union Government, he founded the PDP, akin to old wine in a new bottle. His arrest in 2010 by the Bengaluru Police was in connection with the 1998 Bengaluru serial blast case, as well as alleged plots in Ahmedabad, Surat, and Jaipur, and the 2010 Bengaluru Stadium bombing.
The same CPM leader, M.A. Baby, continues to state that his party would have no truck with the SDPI (Social Democratic Party of India), the political arm of the outlawed Popular Front of India (PFI).
However, the SDPI is supporting the Congress-led Opposition, the United Democratic Front (UDF).
There are also reports that the SDPI is extending support to the LDF in select constituencies. However, CPM leaders, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, have remained tight-lipped on the matter.
The SDPI has reportedly stated that it will decide whom to support in constituencies where it does not field its own candidates. This indicates the possibility of backing the LDF in areas where the UDF lacks electoral viability, even with support.
Meanwhile, the Welfare Party, the political arm of Jamaat-e-Islami, has decided not to field its own candidates in the Assembly elections next month, opting instead to support the UDF.
In simple terms, both fronts appear to be benefiting from the support of one or another fundamentalist force.
