‘Please don’t break our bond’: Campaign plea of Malappuram candidate who takes on childhood buddy

 A candidate's plea for friendship has struck an emotional chord with many amid hostile campaigns in local body polls. P Shaiju, the LDF candidate contesting from Ward 11 (Poolakkal) in Thiruvali grama panchayat, Malappuram, takes on his childhood friend Midhun Raj, the UDF-backed Independent candidate from the same ward.

Their story soon went viral, especially after a campaign event where Midhun addressed his supporters with a heartfelt request: “No matter who wins or loses, don’t engage in anything that could harm our friendship.”

Both 36, the two have been inseparable since they were boys. Their fathers, tree cutters by profession, worked together for years and shared an equally strong bond. The boys studied together until Class 5 and remained close even after moving to different schools—strengthened by evenings of football on the village ground and a childhood lived 'like one family.'

“Our houses are next to each other, and we even draw drinking water from the same well,” Midhun says. “I have four elder sisters, and he treats them like his own. His two younger brothers are like my brothers. We are also active in the local arts and sports club.”

After school, Midhun joined Mar Thoma College, Chungathara, while Shaiju pursued his degree at MES College, Mampad. Both were active in the SFI during their college days. Shaiju stayed in politics, later becoming SFI unit secretary, area secretary, and now an active DYFI worker. For the past eight years, he has been working at the Punnappala Service Co-Operative Bank. In 2020, he contested for the Thrikkalangode division of the Malappuram district panchayat but lost to IUML’s N M Rajan.

Midhun, meanwhile, shifted completely towards academics after his degree, earning a Master’s and a BEd before entering the teaching profession. He is currently a temporary Economics faculty member at IOHSS, Edavanna, and is now on long leave to participate in the election.

Shaiju’s candidacy was announced first. Midhun says he had no initial plans to enter the contest. “I was preparing for PSC exams along with my teaching career. Then party leaders approached me, and it took a few days to finalise. I was worried about how people would react and whether it would affect our friendship,” Midhun recalls.

“So the next morning, I went straight to his house and told him everything. He wasn’t surprised since he had heard the rumours. I said I would love to take this as an opportunity, and he agreed,” says Midhun. He adds that Shaiju’s nomination was expected. “Since he has been in politics for a long time, it was natural. But I expected he might be fielded for the block or district panchayat.”

Campaigning has been an exciting new experience for Midhun. “Seeing my posters outside and hearing from students who’ve known me as their teacher feels surreal,” he says. “Even though we are friends, there is competition. It’s a democratic process, and competition is inevitable. The grassroots workers are more spirited and excited than we are.”

Meanwhile, Shaiju describes himself as a firm ideological worker. “I am a hardcore Leftist. I hold strong political beliefs for the election. But after the election, there is no need to carry that politics forward—then what matters is only development,” he says. 

Both have young daughters of nearly the same age. “We hope they, too, will continue our friendship and live peacefully, preserving the harmony we celebrate today,” says Midhun. Their friends are the ones facing the real dilemma. Neither Midhun nor Shaiju asks their close circle for votes. “Let them vote based on their conscience,” Midhun adds.

And as Shaiju puts it, “No matter who wins, it won’t affect our bond. That’s the culture of our land.”