Audio clip alleging IUML leaders took ₹2 lakh to campaign for Congress candidate roils UDF, fuels BJP attack

Kasaragod: A simmering rift between the Congress and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) in Enmakaje panchayat has escalated into a district-level UDF crisis, opening the door for the BJP to target Congress leader Somashekhara JS’s narrow win in the Kasaragod district panchayat election.

Somashekhara, an influential Congress leader in the Kannada-speaking regions of Kasaragod and a former Enmakaje panchayat president, wrested the Puthige division from the BJP by 418 votes, defeating BJP candidate Manikanda Rai.

The victory has now come under a cloud after Somashekhara’s brother, Radhakrishna Nayak, Congress Kumbla block secretary and now an elected Enmakaje panchayat member, said in an audio message that a section of IUML leaders demanded and were paid ₹50,000 each to campaign for Somashekhara in four wards of Enmakaje panchayat where the Muslim League is influential.

Seizing on the message, BJP Kasaragod district president M L Ashwini demanded that Somashekhara’s victory be invalidated, arguing that such expenditure would breach the ₹1.5 lakh spending cap prescribed for a district panchayat candidate. She alleged that the UDF had spent significant resources to reclaim Puthige, a division with the BJP since 2015. She also said the audio clip constituted prima facie evidence of excess spending and inducement.

Somashekhara dismissed the BJP’s demand, saying no such statement had been made by him or his chief agent. “Any declaration regarding election expenditure has to come from the candidate or the chief agent. Neither of us has said this,” he said, adding that he had not paid money to anyone to campaign on his behalf.

He said he did not focus on Enmakaje during the campaign as it was his backyard, and instead concentrated on Puthige and Paivalike panchayats, where the BJP is strong.

Nayak said the voice message, posted in a Congress WhatsApp group, was intended to pacify party workers after a Youth League leader, Sameel, accused him of being an RSS worker. “Sameel posted my photo on Facebook and called me a Sanghi. I reacted angrily and sent that voice message. If Ashwini wants to use it to target Somashekhara, let her produce evidence,” Nayak said.

The infighting in Enmakaje
At the heart of the controversy lies Enmakaje panchayat, a local body where the UDF and BJP are closely matched, and where the Congress has traditionally relied on the clout of the Somashekhara family. His mother, Sharada Y, had earlier served as the panchayat president.

In the latest election, the UDF won eight of the 18 wards, emerging as the single largest front but falling two short of a simple majority. The Congress contested 14 wards and won four, while the IUML contested four and won all four. The BJP has six members, and the LDF four.

This new equation within the UDF triggered a tussle over the panchayat president’s post between the Congress and the IUML. The Congress refused to concede the post, citing precedent, while offering the vice-president’s post to the League. The IUML’s local committee resigned in protest, but the party's district leadership did not accept the resignations.

Eventually, Congress’s Kusumavathi B was elected president, while IUML’s Aboobacker Siddique Volamogar became vice-president of the panchayat.

It was amid this tension that Nayak was accused of being a “Sanghi” and his audio message surfaced, alleging that a section of local IUML leaders had demanded money to campaign for Somashekhara.

When contacted later, Nayak did not disown the voice message. Instead, he alleged that the Congress lost at least three wards because a section of the IUML leadership in Enmakaje worked against it. He named IUML panchayat committee president A K Sharief, treasurer Aboobacker Siddique, and Youth League leader Sameel, accusing them of defying the Muslim League’s district leadership and hurting the Congress.

According to Nayak, the Congress lost Kattukukke, a sitting Congress ward, to the BJP by 34 votes; Kajampadi ward to the BJP by five votes; and Bengapadavu to the CPM by 64 votes.

In Saya, the Congress lost to the CPM by 13 votes, which he attributed to internal issues within the Congress.

Another senior Congress leader alleged that the IUML faction led by Sharief tacitly aligned with the BJP and CPM in the four wards. “We were expecting a lead of at least 150 votes in these wards, but lost the seats. In the same wards, Somashekhara polled more votes in the district panchayat election,” the leader said. To stress the Congress's popularity, he said the four wards the Congress won had a margin of over 300 votes.

However, IUML panchayat member Ramla Ibrahim denied allegations that IUML leaders took money to campaign for Somashekhara. She said differences with the Congress had been resolved and that the controversy existed largely on social media.

The senior Congress leader disagreed, saying the issues persisted and warned that unless the UDF’s district leadership intervened decisively, the fallout could reflect in the Manjeshwar Assembly election, where the BJP has been losing by narrow margins.