Ahamed defends Vienna, League differs

And the CPIM, fishing for votes in the League heartland of Malappuram, is making most of it, even organising

8216;Iran solidarity meetings8217; as part of its poll campaign.

The divide within the League on the Iran issue saw Banatwala being given a standing ovation when he slammed the Government at a party rally in Perintalmanna. But League8217;s senior leader, P K Kunhalikutty, later told the Assembly that his party backed the Government decision.

When Ahamed was busy with the visit to New Delhi of President George W Bush, the youth wing of his party was taking out protest marches in Malappuram, demanding that Bush go back.

8220;I have spoken what I wanted to say last month at my speech in Malappuram. I have nothing more to say,8221; Banatwala told The Indian Express. He refused to comment on the divide within on the Iran issue.

Ahamed, on his part, maintained that 8220;the party has told the Kerala Assembly that it backs the Government of India move. There is no room for any controversy.8221;

If Iran seems too distant to impact Muslim votes in an Assembly poll here, think again. Every upheaval in the Muslim world has had emotional resonance here. Ask the scores of children born in Malappuram during and after the 1991 Gulf War who were promptly named Saddam.

Or, go to an important local beach in Parappanangadi bearing the vanquished Iraqi dictator8217;s name. Even the huge CPIM posters in Malappuram, when it held its last state conference a year ago, had more pictures of Yasser Arafat than of anyone in the traditional Red pantheon.

Several Muslim outfits, from the powerful Sunni Students Federation SSF to the ultra-radical National Development Front NDF, have plunged into the Iran issue, flaying the Government.

But the biggest gainer from the League8217;s mess is the CPIM, which has not been able to dig substantially into the traditional Muslim vote bank8212;its upset victory in League bastion Manjeri last Lok Sabha poll, with a powerful Sunni section backing it, is far from a trend.

The comrades are now heaving to adequately leverage the Iran issue in time for the polls. That includes regular Iran Solidarity Meetings in most parts of Malappuram8217;s League strongholds.

Claiming they were 8220;trying to expose the League8217;s double standards8221;, CPIM Central Committee member M A Baby said: 8220;The Iran vote is going to be one of our key campaign issues this poll8221;.

The CPIM8217;s aggressive public posturing has also put the many Muslim outfits campaigning on the issue in a fix since they can8217;t afford to be seen on the same wavelength as the comrades.

8220;The CPIM is just trying to fish for votes. We are not going to play ourselves into the hands of any party8221; said Nasaruddeen Elamaram, NDF general secretary.