Indian National League seeks return of former members and sympathisers

The Indian National League will formulate and implement a time-bound plan to strengthen its ideological base and expand its organisational presence in Kerala, its State president Ahammed Devarkovil and general secretary Kasim Irikkur said on Saturday. Addressing the media in Kozhikode, the leaders said the party would organise campaigns, study programmes and other organisational activities in response to changes in the political situation in Kerala and the country. The measures form part of the party’s programme marking its 33rd anniversary.

The leaders said the severe setback suffered by the Left Democratic Front in the last election had also led to wider introspection and political rethinking. The INL said it would seek to bring into its campaign people who shared the political ideals of its founder, Ibrahim Sulaiman Sait. It also invited former members and sympathisers who had left the party for different reasons to rejoin its activities.

The party leaders criticised the Congress-led United Democratic Front, alleging that it had moved away from its secular political position. They also accused the Congress and the Indian Union Muslim League of compromising with the interests of the Sangh Parivar. The leaders warned that these developments could create political space for Hindutva forces in Kerala.

The allegations were made at the media briefing and were not accompanied in the supplied material by responses from the Congress, the UDF or the Muslim League. The party’s stated plan combines ideological work with efforts to rebuild its organisation. Campaigns and study programmes are intended to address the changing political environment, while the invitation to former members and sympathisers seeks to widen the party’s base.

The INL’s announcement comes as it reflects on its performance and its place within the Left Democratic Front. The leaders linked the proposed organisational expansion to the need for political reassessment after the alliance’s electoral setback. No specific dates, targets or details of the proposed action plan were given in the supplied report.

The party also did not identify the offices or constituencies where its organisational work would begin.