Cong-IUML seat-sharing talks end on ‘positive’ note

IUML finds discussions on Lok Sabha seat-sharing with Congress 'satisfactory,' final decision after party meeting on Feb 27. Speculations of fighting solo if demand not met by Congress.

The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) termed the discussions with the Congress leadership over seat-sharing ‘satisfactory’ in the Lok Sabha elections on Sunday and said the final decision will be announced after the party meeting on February 27.

The UDF had won 19 of the state’s 20 seats with the lone Alappuzha seat going to the CPI(M)-led LDF (ANI)

Seat-sharing within the Congress-led UDF has been held up for weeks following the IUML pressing hard for a third seat this time, apart from its traditional strongholds of Malappuram and Ponnani. The issue has been a raging political topic in the state leading even to speculations of IUML planning to fight solo if its demand was not met by the Congress.

But IUML national general secretary PK Kunhalikutty was optimistic after the meeting ended. “The talks with the Congress leadership were positive. We will now evaluate the details at our party committee meeting to be convened by Panakkad Sayid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal on February 27. We cannot disclose the details right now. The decision will be announced then,” he said.

According to people familiar with the matter, the Congress is likely to give away a Rajya Sabha seat from its kitty to the IUML when it falls vacant in July this year. The national party reportedly told its ally that it cannot afford to part with one of its Lok Sabha seats especially considering the party’s astounding performance in the 2019 polls when it won 15 of the 16 seats it contested. The UDF had won 19 of the state’s 20 seats with the lone Alappuzha seat going to the CPI(M)-led LDF.