EC reprimands Cong leader for using religion to woo voters

Trivandrum - Both Koya and the Congress candidate Adam Musli are members of Muslim community.

By T K Devasia

Published: Mon 2 May 2016, 5:42 PM

The Central Election Commission on Sunday reprimanded Calicut district Congress committee president K.C. Abu for inciting communal passion during his party's campaign for the May16 assembly election.
The commission viewed the Congress leader's remarks during a convention of the Congress-led United Democratic (UDF) at Cheruvanoor in Beypore on April 7 as a violation of the poll panel's directions that votes should not be canvassed on the basis of religion.
In his speech, Abu had asked voters at Beypore to defeat Communist Party of India (Marxist) candidate and Calicut Mayor V.K.C. Mammed Koya and elect Congress candidate at Beypore so that they could retain a Muslim mayor and get a Muslim MLA.
Both Koya and the Congress candidate Adam Musli are members of Muslim community. What Abu meant was that if Koya was defeated, he would continue as mayor.
The Election Commission reprimanded Abu after rejecting his explanation. The poll panel had initiated action on a complaint filed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate K.P. Prakash Babu. The Nallalam Police had also registered a case against him under section 125 of the Representation of People's Act, 1951.
Adam Mulsi had lost the election at Beypore, considered as a strong CPM stronghold, to Elamaram Kareem of the CPM in the last election by 5,316 votes. The party held the grip over the Muslim-dominated constituency by fielding Muslim candidates since 1982.
Koya, who heads the Rs15-billion VKC Group of companies, had himself won the seat in the 2001 assembly election by a margin of over 5,000 votes. Koya is the richest among the candidates who have filed nomination for the election on May 16.
The 75-year-old communist-turned businessman, who pursues active politics even while heading the business, had risen from humble beginnings. He believes that the communism in his blood had helped him excel in his business.
Born in a peasant family, Koya could not complete his schooling due to abject poverty. After ending his education at Class 7, he started selling tea to support the family. He later joined a matchstick manufacturing company, but was dismissed after he led a labour strike.
This forced him to move to Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, where he worked as a contract employee with the electricity board. He returned to Kerala in 1967 and took a plunge into business by launching a company for supplying raw materials for matchsticks with the help of two friends.
The business faced crisis with the demand for matches dwindling. Koya shut down the company in 1984 and launched the footwear manufacturing company. The brand called VKC became popular soon and the business flourished.
CPM leaders said that the CPM had fielded him in place of Elamaram Kareem considering his immense popularity in the region. They claimed that Koya had endeared himself to people by treating his workers well and championing the causes of the people.
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