Malappuram (Kerala): With the crucial Lok Sabha election on April 26 in Kerala, a BJP candidate on Sunday put the party in a fix, saying that its stand on controversial issues such as the CAA and ‘The Kerala Story’ movie may adversely impact its poll prospects in Muslim pockets.
The candidate, M Abdul Salam, a former vice-chancellor of Calicut University, is trying his electoral luck from Malappuram district on a BJP ticket.
Malappuram is a Muslim-dominated district located in the northern part of the state.
While talking to Asianet News channel, he said the party should have intervened effectively in Muslim pockets to explain about the CAA and convince people about it. But the BJP leadership’s efforts in this regard have been “inadequate”, he said.
When asked about the controversial Bollywood movie ‘The Kerala Story’, Salam said he was yet to watch the film.
“It is true that the controversies have caused anxieties among Muslims,” he said, adding that it was not the party’s stand but his personal opinion.
“I felt that the triggering of the controversy during election time may affect the candidate in a constituency like Malappuram where 70 per cent of the population are Muslims,” Salam said.
He said that issues such as Ayodhya, Gyanvapi Mosque and CAA had also flared up and that candidates like him were facing the heat.
“In the case of CAA, the party leaders have given explanations. The party (BJP) should have intervened effectively in Muslim pockets to explain about the CAA and convince people about it. But, it is true to say that the efforts that had been taken in this regard (by the party) were inadequate,” the candidate explained.
Salam also pointed out that the BJP leaders could have gone to Muslim houses, just like they visited Christian families as part of the saffron party’s plans to reach out to minority communities.
PTI

  BJP, CAA, Congress, Election

Press Trust of India