KOZHIKODE: IUML senior leader and MLA M K Muneer has refuted allegations of any alliance or understanding with the Jamaat-e-Islami or its political wing, the Welfare Party of India (WPI), asserting that ideological rifts prevent any such association.

Speaking to reporters in the wake of Aryadan Shoukath’s win in Nilambur, Muneer emphasised that the IUML and Jamaat-e-Islami stand on opposite ends of the ideological spectrum and therefore have no scope for collaboration. “The IUML has never invited or accepted support from the Welfare Party,” he stated, stressing that neither joint platforms nor coordinated campaigns had taken place.

The comments follow a charged campaign led by the ruling LDF, which attempted to highlight purported support from the WPI as a blot on the UDF’s secular credentials. Countering it, Muneer accused the CPM of hypocrisy, recalling past instances where the Left had embraced Jamaat-e-Islami without hesitation.

“The CPM’s criticism of the Jamaat-e-Islami now seems deeply opportunistic. When it served their interests, they didn’t hesitate to accept support from the very same ideological quarters they now denounce,” Muneer said, adding that the IUML’s stand has remained consistent over the years.

In a political twist, Muneer also credited CPM state secretary M V Govindan for inadvertently aiding the UDF’s campaign. Govindan’s controversial remark admitting past electoral support from the RSS, according to Muneer, weakened the Left’s credibility and helped galvanise UDF voters.