Indian Union Muslim League’s makeover from an ally to an electoral powerhouse in Kerala

It was around 10.30 a.m. on May 4, 2026, when Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) national general secretary P.K. Kunhalikutty’s car eased out of his house at Karathodu, near Panakkad, in Malappuram district of Kerala.

The atmosphere was already charged as the Kerala Assembly election vote counting was under way. The car did not travel far. It turned into nearby Panakkad and stopped at the residence of IUML State president Syed Sadik Ali Shihab Thangal.

Inside, the mood was electric. IUML workers had gathered in large numbers at the party supremo’s residence. Anticipation turned into celebration as results firmed up and a historic Assembly election victory became clear. Slogans rose in waves, and the Thangal’s courtyard filled with noise and movement. A visibly elated Kunhalikutty stepped in and embraced the Thangal.

For a brief moment, the celebration seemed to pause, as the scale of the victory began to sink in.

The story of the United Democratic Front’s (UDF) return to power in Kerala after a decade is, in many ways, also the story of the IUML evolving from a dependable ally into the coalition’s most-disciplined political machine. While the Congress remained the UDF’s main face, the IUML provided much of the organisational strength and social cohesion that drove the alliance’s success, especially in the Malabar region.

The number game

The numbers reflect the political clout of the party in the Malabar region as it secured an 11.01% vote share, almost on par with the BJP’s 11.42%.

But unlike the BJP, which fought largely on its own, the IUML achieved this as part of a coalition, amplifying its prominence within the UDF.

While the Congress won 63 of the 95 seats it contested (a 66.32% strike rate), the party won 22 of the 27 seats with a strike rate of 81.48%.

Besides Kunhalikutty’s win from the Malappuram Assembly constituency with a record margin of 85,327 votes, P.M.A. Sameer in Tirurangadi with a margin of 63,387 votes and Abid Hussain Thangal in Kottakkal with a margin 62,638 votes became the top performers in the State.

But for the League’s leadership, the election was never about numbers alone. Across Kerala, the party began preparations long before the elections were announced. The organisational machinery was activated well in advance.

“We began with the meticulous vetting of the voters’ lists,” says party State general secretary P.M.A. Salam, and “completed it in a time-bound manner.”

C.P. Saidalavi, State vice-president, notes that the poll preparations began from the stage of electoral list revision itself. “We remained alert from the Special Intensive Revision stage of the list,” he says. “Voter enrolment, documentation and booth-level work were handled carefully.”

It was Team IUML all the way. Leaders travelled across constituencies and relentlessly campaigned for the front. At the centre stood the Thangal, whose leadership was seen both as organisational and symbolic.

The campaign unfolded in a wider political climate that, the IUML leaders felt, was increasingly charged.

Abdurahman Randathani, State secretary of the party, notes that sections of the Left Democratic Front (LDF), especially the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], supported narratives that echoed Sangh Parivar's politics. “Communal campaigns were allowed to continue. The LDF did not stop them; in fact, it encouraged them. The remarks by some leaders of social organisations were an example.”

He also says that the reported remarks by the then Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, about Malappuram caused deep resentment. “Statements suggesting that the people of Malappuram were engaged in hawala and gold smuggling through the Karipur airport caused deep hurt as it was directed against an entire community,” he notes.

Kunhalikutty sidestepped some of the caustic comments against the district and the community members.

The party also displayed restraint during some of the raging controversies such as the Munambam Waqf land issue, where the residents of the coastal village launched a protest under the leadership of a Church-led organisation against the decision of the Kerala State Waqf Board to enlist the holding as a Waqf. The issue had attained communal overtones and threatened to disrupt communal amity. “The way the IUML handled the Munambam issue was an example of its social restraint,” says Randathani.

The outreach extended further through the party State president’s Statewide yatra, which included meetings with leaders of multiple communities. “It strengthened the IUML’s secular image,” says Randathani.

Support to Satheesan

The party strongly backed V.D. Satheesan during the selection of the UDF’s Chief Minister candidate. League leaders say this was natural.

Satheesan and the IUML shared a strong mutual trust, which matured over the years. His political style matched the League’s outreach, especially his engagement with minority communities. He had also defended the IUML during the earlier political controversies, say some of the League leaders.

Social engineering

As the IUML came under concerted attacks loaded with Islamophobic narratives, the party began attracting more non-Muslim members to its fold. In Kollam, dozens of activists of the Janadhipathya Samrakshana Samiti (JSS), a political party established by the former communist leader K.R. Gowri, joined the IUML. Among them were JSS Kollam secretary Sudhakaran Pallath and State executive member Kulakkada Rajendran, who say the League’s secular stance attracted them.

“We expect more workers to join us,” says IUML Kollam president Noushad Younus.

Three-time Anchal panchayat president and CPI(M) Kollam district committee member Suja Chandrababu joined the IUML in January. She was considered for a general seat this election but was dropped at the last minute due to constraints, according to the Thangal.

The IUML also counts Njeralathu Harigovindan, Sopanasangeetham singer and edakka exponent, who joined the party before the Assembly polls, among its prominent new voices. “I grew up in Malappuram and know what the League stood for,” he says. Facing blistering attacks on social media for joining the IUML, he says Islamophobic narratives have become unbearable. “The League has proved its secular character over decades,” he says.

At the same time, the IUML acted firmly against organisational lapses. The party condemned workers who displayed a goat’s head during celebrations following former Minister K.T. Jaleel’s defeat in Thavanur. The Youth League suspended its Idukki district committee after workers raised volatile slogans against some social organisations during a protest march.

“Which other party acts with such responsibility in Kerala? It shows how much the IUML cares about social harmony,” asks Harigovindan.

Though viewed as a community-based party, the IUML has had prominent non-Muslim leaders earlier too. U.C. Raman served two terms as MLA from Kunnamangalam, which was a reserved constituency in 2001 and 2006. He unsuccessfully contested from the same constituency as a party candidate when it became a general seat.

The party made A.P. Unnikrishnan the Malappuram district panchayat president in 2015. His daughter A P. Smiji is now the vice-president of the district panchayat.

Leaders also say the League consciously deflected attempts by right-wing forces to project it as either “controlling the Congress” or functioning as a communal force in power.

“We never wanted to fall into the traps set by certain forces, so we have been cautious in our responses. The Left, which supported the communal elements, ended up paying a price for it,” observes K.P.A. Majeed, former IUML State general secretary.

Symbolic choices

The League also displayed calibrated symbolic and political choices cautiously at the swearing-in ceremony of its Cabinet Ministers this time as they took their oath in God’s name, like their Congress colleagues, departing from the earlier practice of invoking Allah.

Kunhalikutty also did not wear the fur cap, often associated with Muslim identity, to the function, which he had worn during the 2011 ceremony. Together, these moves signalled a subtle change in its political tone and public appearance.

Shifting patterns

The current political season saw the party successfully trying new representational patterns in selecting the candidates. For the first time, it fielded two women candidates, leading to the election of Fathima Thahiliya, a young councillor of the Kozhikode Corporation, as the party’s first woman MLA in Kerala.

Jayanthi 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 Koothuparamba seat by a wafer-thin margin of 1,286 votes.

Najma Thabsheera, national secretary of the Youth League, notes that “every IUML worker was focussed on winning as they felt this was the last bus for the party.”

“We were deeply concerned about the growing communal polarisation and the damage being done to the social fabric. We chose to stay completely political and approached issues politically,” says Thabsheera, who is also the president of the Perinthalmanna block panchayat.

Welfare activities

The party also invested heavily on humanitarian and welfare activities, which, many leaders believe, generated political goodwill across several constituencies and contributed to the victory of several Congress leaders. The party played a significant role in the victory of V.S. Joy, a Christian candidate, against K.T. Jaleel, a Muslim face of the CPI (M) in Thavanur, and Sandeep Varier, a Hindu candidate who left the BJP to join the Congress, in the Thrikkaripur constituency.

“We worked in tandem with the Congress,” says Majeed. “There was exceptional bonhomie and camaraderie in all the constituencies where the front contested.”

Ultimately, the party has found its role extended far beyond the 22 seats, its best electoral performance. Besides regaining its political significance after being forced to sit in the Opposition for a decade, it has also found a new role as a bridge across communities. For many within the League, the election was not just about power, but about preserving Kerala’s social fabric too.