It was around 10.30 am on May 4, 2026, when Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) national general secretary PK Kunhalikutty’s car pulled out of his house at Karathodu near Panakkad in Kerala’s Malappuram district.
The atmosphere was already heated as the counting of votes for the Kerala Assembly elections was underway. The car did not go very far. It turned into nearby Panakkad and stopped at the residence of IUML state president Syed Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal.
Members of the Indian Union Muslim League celebrating the victory of the United Democratic Front in the Kerala Assembly elections. | Photo courtesy: Sakir Hussain
Inside, the atmosphere was electric. IUML workers had gathered in large numbers at the residence of the party supremo. As the results became clear and the historic assembly election victory became clear, anticipation turned to celebration. The slogans echoed in waves and the Thangal courtyard was filled with noise and bustle. Kunhalikutty, clearly excited, stepped forward and hugged Thangal.
For a brief moment, the celebrations subsided, as the scale of the victory began to diminish.
In many ways, the story of the United Democratic Front’s (UDF) return to power in Kerala after a decade is also the story of the IUML’s evolution from a trusted ally to the alliance’s most disciplined political machine. While the Congress remained the main face of the UDF, the IUML provided the organizational strength and social cohesion that led to the alliance’s success, especially in the Malabar region.
number game
The numbers reflect the party’s political clout in the Malabar region as it secured 11.01% vote share, almost equal to the BJP’s 11.42%.
But unlike the BJP, which fought largely on its own, the IUML achieved this as part of the alliance, thereby increasing its prominence within the UDF.
While the Congress won 63 out of 95 seats (66.32% strike rate), the party won 22 out of 27 seats with a strike rate of 81.48%.
Apart from Kunhalikutty’s victory from Malappuram assembly constituency by a record margin of 85,327 votes, PMA Sameer in Tirurangadi by a margin of 63,387 votes and Abid Hussain Thangal in Kottakkal by a margin of 62,638 votes became the top performers in the state.
But for the league’s leadership, the election was never just about numbers. Across Kerala, the party had started preparations much before the election was announced. The organizational machinery had already been activated.
“We started the careful scrutiny of voter lists and completed it in a time-bound manner,” says party state general secretary PMA Salam.
State Vice President CP Saidalvi says that election preparations had started from the stage of voter list revision itself. “We were meticulous with the particularly intensive vetting phase of the list,” he says. “Voter enrolment, documentation and booth-level work were handled carefully.”
It was Team IUML all the way. Leaders traveled to constituencies and campaigned continuously for the front. At the center stood the Thangal, whose leadership was seen as both organizational and symbolic.
The campaign unfolded in a broader political environment, which IUML leaders felt was increasingly being blamed.
The party’s state secretary Abdurrahman Randathani says sections of the Left Democratic Front (LDF), particularly the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)), supported narratives reflecting the politics of the Sangh Parivar. “Communal campaigns were allowed to continue. The LDF did not stop them; in fact, it encouraged them. The comments of some leaders of social organizations were an example.”
He also says that the then Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s alleged remarks about Malappuram caused deep resentment. “The statements reveal that people from Malappuram were engaged in hawala and gold smuggling through Karipur airport, which caused deep hurt as it was against the entire community,” he said.
Kunhalikutty ignored some sharp remarks against the district and community members.
The party also showed restraint during some of the raging controversies such as the Munambam Waqf land issue, where residents of a coastal village launched protests led by a church-led organization against the Kerala State Waqf Board’s decision to list the stake as Waqf. The issue had taken a communal tone and there was a danger of disturbing communal harmony. “The way IUML handled the Munambam issue was an example of its social restraint,” says Randathani.
This outreach was further enhanced through the party’s state president’s statewide visit, which included meetings with leaders of several communities. “This strengthened the secular image of IUML,” says Randathani.
support for satisan
During the selection of the UDF chief ministerial candidate, the party strongly supported VD Satheesan. League leaders say it was natural.
Satheesan and IUML shared a strong mutual trust, which matured over the years. His political style matched the League’s reach, particularly his engagement with minority communities. Some leaders of the league say that he had defended IUML during earlier political controversies as well.
social engineering
As the IUML came under concerted attacks filled with Islamophobic narratives, the party started attracting more non-Muslim members. In Kollam, dozens of workers of the Janadhipathi Samrakshana Samiti (JSS), the political party founded by former communist leader KR Gowri, joined the IUML. They also included JSS Kollam secretary Sudhakaran Pallath and state executive member Kulakkada Rajendran, who say the secular stance of the league attracted them.
“We hope more workers will join us,” says Naushad Yunus, president of IUML Kollam.
Three-time Anchal Panchayat president and CPI(M) Kollam district committee member Suja Chandrababu joined IUML in January. According to Thangal, his name was considered for the general seat in this election, but due to constraints, he was dropped at the last moment.
IUML also counts among its prominent new voices Najeralathu Harigovindan, Sopanasangeetham singer and Edakka exponent, who joined the party ahead of the Assembly elections. “I grew up in Malappuram and know what the League means,” he says. Facing scathing attacks on social media for joining the IUML, he says the Islamophobic narratives have become unbearable. “The league has proven its secular character over the decades,” he says.
At the same time, IUML worked strongly against organizational shortcomings. The party condemned the workers who displayed the goat head during celebrations after the defeat of former minister KT Jaleel in Thavanur. The Youth League suspended its Idukki district committee after activists raised volatile slogans against some social organizations during a protest march.
Harigovindan asks, “Which other party in Kerala works with such responsibility? This shows how much IUML cares about social harmony.”
Although seen as a community-based party, IUML has had prominent non-Muslim leaders in the past. UC Raman served as MLA twice from Kunnamangalam, which was a reserved constituency, in 2001 and 2006. He unsuccessfully contested the same constituency as a party candidate when it became a general seat.
The party made AP Unnikrishnan the Malappuram District Panchayat President in 2015. His daughter AP Smiji is now the vice president of the district panchayat.
The leaders also say that the League deliberately rejected attempts by right-wing forces to make it “control the Congress” or act as the communal force in power.
KPA Majeed, former state general secretary of IUML, says, “We never wanted to fall into the trap laid by some forces, so we have been cautious in our reactions. The Left, which supported communal elements, had to pay the price for it.”
symbolic option
The League displayed careful symbolic and political choices in the swearing-in ceremony of its cabinet ministers this time as they, like their Congress colleagues, took oath in the name of God, moving away from the previous practice of invoking Allah.
Kunhalikutty also did not wear the fur hat often associated with Muslim identity at the ceremony, which he had worn during the 2011 ceremony. Together, these moves signaled a subtle shift in its political tone and public presence.
changing patterns
In the current political season the party has successfully tried new representation patterns in the selection of candidates. For the first time, it fielded two women candidates, with young Kozhikode Corporation councilor Fathima Tahilia being elected as the party’s first woman MLA in Kerala.
Jayanti Rajan, the party’s national assistant secretary and a Dalit woman from Wayanad, the second woman candidate fielded by the league in the assembly elections, lost the Kuthuparamba seat by a narrow margin of 1,286 votes.
Najma Thabashira, national secretary of the Youth League, says that “every IUML worker was focused on winning because they felt this was the last bus for the party.”
Thabasira, who is also the president of the Perinthalmanna block panchayat, says, “We were deeply concerned about the growing communal polarization and the damage it was doing to the social fabric. We decided to remain completely apolitical and looked at the issues politically.”
welfare activities
The party also invested heavily in humanitarian and welfare activities, which many leaders believe created political goodwill in many constituencies and contributed to the victory of many Congress leaders. The party played a key role in the victory of VS Joy, a Christian candidate, against CPI(M)’s Muslim face KT Jaleel in Thavanur, and in the victory of Hindu candidate Sandeep Warrier, who left the BJP and joined the Congress, in Thikkaripur constituency.
“We worked closely with the Congress,” says Majeed. “There was extraordinary camaraderie and camaraderie in all the constituencies where the front contested.”
Ultimately, the party found its role extending far beyond 22 seats, its best ever electoral performance. Apart from regaining its political importance after being forced to sit in opposition for a decade, it has also got a new role as a bridge between communities. For many within the League, the election was not just about power, but also about preserving the social fabric of Kerala.
