From sidelines to centre: Haritha leaders reclaim space in IUML

Once pushed to the margins and formally expelled, three young leaders associated with Haritha have now re-entered the Indian Union Muslim League’s (IUML) political centre in Malabar. And, they have not done it quietly, but through decisive electoral victories that signal both personal resilience and an institutional recalibration.

Fathima Tahiliya, Mufeeda Thesni, and T Najma Tabsheera emerged victorious from key wards in the recent local body elections to mark a comeback shaped as much by endurance as by changing currents within the party. Haritha is IUML’s women-led student and youth platform, formed to foreground gender equity and progressive leadership within the party’s broader organisational structure.

Each of the three leaders won from politically significant constituencies: Fathima Tahiliya from the Kuttichira division of the Kozhikode Corporation; Mufeeda Thesni from the newly-constituted Tharuvana division of the Wayanad district panchayat; and T Najma Tabsheera from Valamboor in the Perinthalmanna block panchayat of Malappuram district.

Their return follows a turbulent chapter that began in 2021. Then, they were removed from the IUML after filing a sexual harassment complaint against the then MSF state president, P K Nawas. They were reinstated in 2024 and gradually entrusted with organisational responsibilities. Their electoral success now reads as both vindication of persistence and also as a signal of the party reassessing its relationship with women and youth leadership.

Fathima Tahiliya, Haritha’s first general secretary and inaugural state vice-president, secured Kuttichira, an IUML stronghold, by a margin of 2,273 votes. She defeated LDF candidate V P Rahiyanath. Now a state secretary of the Youth League, she maintains that her political life never truly paused. This, she says, was true even during the years she was technically outside the party.

“Removal and reinstatement always felt procedural to me,” she told Onmanorama. “We continued working, stayed active in everyday politics, and remained visible in party programmes. That consistency eventually spoke for itself,” she added.

Calling the victory deeply emotional, Fathima credited women voters and her long association with the area. She is a resident of nearby Chalappuram and has been politically active since 2012.

She said unresolved civic concerns like drinking water shortage, waterlogging, the stray dog menace, and the pressures of unmanaged tourism shaped voter sentiment. The verdict, she noted, also mirrored the LDF’s sharp decline in the corporation.

In Wayanad, Mufeeda Thesni registered a sweeping win from Tharuvana by a margin of 5,710 votes. She is a native of Muttil and currently the national vice-president of the Youth League. She described the period following her removal as the most testing phase of her life.

“I gave birth to my child around the same time we were expelled,” she said. “It was emotionally and politically draining,” she added. She recalled that family support and solidarity from party colleagues, who knew them beyond headlines, helped her endure.

“When the party brought us back, gave us responsibilities, and eventually fielded us, it felt like perseverance had meaning,” she said. Though Tharuvana is a newly-created division, the contest, she said, was far from easy. Surrounded by areas with a strong LDF presence, the result, in her reading, reflected a clear anti-incumbency mood.

Mufeeda also widened the frame. “This isn’t just about the three of us. Many young women from Haritha contested and won. It shows that women and youth are increasingly being accepted in leadership roles,” she added.

Najma Tabsheera, a former representative from Tirurkkad and the incumbent chairperson of a block standing committee, won from Valamboor, attributing her success to continuity in development work. “People knew what had been done over the years. That trust translated into votes,” she said.

For Najma, the moment carried significance beyond the ballot. “Being reinstated mattered more than being fielded,” she said. “The IUML has undergone structural changes, with more women stepping into leadership roles, including at the national level. Being part of that transition matters,” she said.

Reflecting on her journey from campus politics to local governance, she described the Haritha episode as formative. The period of exclusion, she said, clarified loyalties and exposed who within the party remained committed to its stated ideals.

She is now the national secretary of the Youth League. Najma described the broader outcome as quietly satisfying, particularly as several other former Haritha leaders also found electoral success. Together, the victories suggest not merely a return. It sounds like a repositioning of sidelined voices to the centre.