Meet sole Muslim face in BJP LS list so far: Controversial ex-VC of Calicut Univ

The BJP has nominated him from the Muslim-dominated Malappuram seat, where he will take on the IUML’s E T Muhammed Basheer and the CPI(M)’s V Vaseef.

Salam said he was honoured to be the only Muslim to feature in the BJP’s first list. Admitting the task ahead of him was tough, he said: “I heard about my candidature from the news. The party in Malappuram has been supportive and is working hard for me.”

A reputed agricultural scientist, Salam has been with the BJP since 2019, when its Kerala unit was helmed by P S Sreedharan Pillai, as part of the party’s drive to induct more minority faces in its fold. He was then elevated to the position of national vice-president of the BJP’s Minority Morcha.

In the 2021 Assembly elections in Kerala, Salam had contested and lost from Tirur to the IUML’s Kurukkoli Moideen, polling only 5.33% of the votes.

The Malappuram constituency has been a stronghold of the IUML, both in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, with the BJP’s A P Abdullakutty emerging third last time.

While his resume is illustrious, talking about his work as a scientist and consultant in 15 countries, Salam’s tenure as the vice-chancellor of Calicut University was tumultuous. He had faced protests by the students, faculty and non-teaching staff of the university, and was especially at loggerheads with the CPI(M)-affiliated student unions.

At the height of the protests in 2014, a circular by Salam restricting women from coming to his chambers due to “security concerns” had created a furore and was dubbed “anti-women”. Some of his moves, such as allegedly selling university land and admission of some students, had also resulted in controversy.

He is still fighting six cases related to alleged land grabbing and allegedly granting affiliation to an engineering college promoted by a trust seen as close to the IUML. But Salam says he is not worried about them. “Four of these cases were struck down during preliminary verification, while FIRs in the other two have been closed.”

On his time as a vice-chancellor, Salam says the IUML, whose minister held the Education portfolio under the UDF government, wanted a Muslim and he was an eligible one.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Salam said he was not against the IUML or the CPI(M). “My task is to make the poor, innocent Muslims realise the false propaganda against the Narendra Modi government and BJP… In Malappuram, there is a significant change in the approach of Muslims, especially among educated ones, towards the BJP,” he said.