The Indian Union Muslim League is wary that its sulking leader, Mr Cherkkalam Abdulla, may play spoilsport in the key constituency of Manjeswaram.
Mr Abdulla, who was sidelined and denied a seat by his leader, Mr P.K. Kunhalikutty, is the cynosure of all eyes in Manjeswaram, which is witnessing a triangular contest among the UDF, LDF and the BJP.
A former minister in the UDF cabinet, Mr Abdulla was pushed to the third position in the 2006 elections in which the BJP came second, shocking many poll analysts.
Though he wanted to contest the seat again, his party bosses fielded Mr P.B. Abdul Razaq, a businessman. He was denied the seat because Mr Kunhalikutty thought he had secret links with Mr K.A. Rauf, whose revelations in the ice cream sex racket case have landed the IUML leader in a fix.
And it is learnt that Mr Abdulla has vowed to hit back. “But how much votes he can take away from the IUML kitty is yet to be known,” said a UDF worker.
LDF’s Mr C.H. Kunhambu, who is the sitting MLA, and BJP’s Mr K. Surendran are also in the race, making the outcome literally unpredictable.
Mr Surendran has been camping in the constituency for more than two years. Proximity with Karnataka, where the BJP is in power, is an added advantage for him. And the BJP is also now trying to bring back voters of the constituency settled in Bengaluru and other places with the help of the Karnataka government.s
The BJP, which has so far not been able to get an MLA in the Assembly, is pinning its hopes on Manjeswaram and Nemom, where the senior leader, Mr O. Rajagopal, is contesting.