Malappuram: The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has been forced to contain an unexpected controversy in Perinthalmanna after banners opposing the possible candidature of sitting MLA Najeeb Kanthapuram surfaced in parts of the constituency.

The flex boards, which appeared along Pattambi Road and at Karinkallathani in the town on Thursday, urged the party leadership not to field Kanthapuram for a second consecutive term in the upcoming Assembly elections. The banners, put up in the name of "Muslim League Poralikal," described the MLA as an "outsider" and even alleged that the Perinthalmanna seat was a "payment seat" linked to senior IUML leader P K Kunhalikutty.

Adding to the confusion, the banners carried photographs of several local IUML leaders, including Usman Thamarath, A K Nasar Master and Usman Thamarath, giving the impression that the protest had internal backing. However, party leaders whose images appeared on the flex boards quickly distanced themselves from the development.

IUML district president P Abdul Hameed said the party had no connection with the banners and dismissed them as a deliberate attempt to create confusion within the party ranks. Speaking to Onmanorama, he alleged that the move was part of a strategy by the Left Democratic Front (LDF) to trigger divisions within the IUML camp ahead of the elections.

He asserted that the party would not retreat from its decision to field Kanthapuram again from Perinthalmanna and said the official announcement of candidates would be made in the coming days. According to him, the IUML-led United Democratic Front (UDF) is confident of retaining the seat with a comfortable margin.

Perinthalmanna has witnessed closely fought contests in recent elections. Once considered a stronghold of the LDF, the constituency shifted politically after former minister Manjalamkuzhi Ali moved from the Left camp to the UDF. Since then, the Left has struggled to regain the seat.

In the 2021 Kerala Legislative Assembly election, Kanthapuram secured victory by a razor-thin margin of just 38 votes, defeating K P M Musthafa of the LDF. Kanthapuram polled 76,530 votes, while Musthafa secured 76,492 votes. Musthafa later challenged the result in the Kerala High Court, claiming that 348 postal ballots had not been counted, but the court dismissed the petition seeking to annul the result.

The constituency has also seen narrow margins in earlier elections. In the 2016 Kerala Legislative Assembly election, Manjalamkuzhi Ali won the seat for the IUML by 579 votes, defeating CPM leader V Sasikumar. Earlier, in the 2011 Kerala Legislative Assembly election, Ali had registered a much larger victory margin of 9,589 votes soon after switching sides from the LDF to the UDF.

Meanwhile, the LDF is reportedly considering fielding an independent candidate in Perinthalmanna this time, hoping to consolidate votes and wrest the constituency back.