SDPI’s national secretary, Dr.Tasleem Rahmani has been named as the candidate of the SDPI party in the Malappuram Lok Sabha by-election. Dr. Rahmani’s candidature was officially announced by the party’s national general secretary Ilyas Muhammad Thumbay on Wednesday.
When the BJP had tabled the copy of the CAA Act in the parliament, Dr.Tasleem Rahmani had openly torn it apart during the meeting. The 9ncident had become big news in the nation at the time. It was the very first incident of opposition that the Citizenship Amendment Act faced in the country. Since then, there have been massive protests against the act, both inside and outside parliament.
It is only been two years since the last Lok Sabha elections. But, PK Kunhalikutty of the Muslim League tendered his resignation and refrained from contesting in the Kerala Assembly elections. That news had received a lot of criticism. His own party members disparaged indicating that an MP who was supposed to stand up and speak against fascism in the country has instead returned to state politics due to his desire for power. In the aftermath of that, Muslim League along with the UDF had also announced that it would not give any MP’s ticket in the Assembly elections.
A doctor by profession, Tasleem Rahmani is also a skilled political analyst. Rahmani has participated in many media discussions and raised his voice against the Citizenship Amendment. In the history of the Malappuram constituency, Muhammad Ismail, a native of Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, had represented Malappuram during the third, fourth, and fifth term of the Lok Sabha. The constituency was represented by Ibrahim Suleiman Seth, a native of Karnataka for the 6th, 8th, and 9th term.
At present, the SDPI has announced Dr. Tasleem Rahmani as its party candidate. Kunhalikutty’s failure and greed for power which has caused the electorate to face another electoral burden has brought infamy on him. Therefore, this time around there is an opportunity for close competition in the field. It is reported that the people have shown a favourable attitude towards Tasleem Rahmani, for having spoken stern words against the BJP government’s fascist approach with his outbursts outside the parliament.
During the first Lok Sabha elections in the country, the Malappuram constituency was the first to be identified in the Malabar districts as Malappuram. After that, it was known as Manjeri until the 2004 elections. In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, this constituency was once again changed to Malappuram.
