A footballer contesting Assembly elections for the first time; another refusing an offer to be a candidate; a party left unhappy with its symbol — a football — being revoked; and, the ruling Left being targeted for a Lionel Messi visit that didn’t happen.
The beautiful game has cast its shadows over the Kerala polls to be held on April 9.
Although the state has produced numerous footballers of note, none had actively stepped into the political turf, before LDF-backed independent candidate U Sharaf Ali — a gritty and versatile defender, former India captain and pillar of the 1980s powerhouse team Kerala Police.
He will contest from the state’s northern football heartland of Nilambur in Malappuram district. The quaint town is the home of the iconic Sevens football, where every vacant space of land is repurposed to a playground, where every third person wears a football jersey, and where the faces of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo peer from almost every other wall.
Sharaf Ali, who is from the neighbouring town of Areekode, believes the love for football and footballers will translate into votes. Speaking to The Indian Express, he says, “I have played a lot of games here, and received love and warmth from the locals. My maternal uncles are settled here, so I have spent time here. The place celebrates the game and the footballers.”
To campaign for him, his former Kerala Police teammates and friends, including
I M Vijayan and C V Pappachan, will participate in an open-jeep road show. In one of the election posters, Sharaf Ali is seen kicking a football, his “mundu” folded up. “I don’t see it as politics, but social service and helping people out, and resuming the development our government has been carrying out,” he says.
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Though he was immersed in football from teenage, he had worked with the youth wing of the Congress, “but with Left leaning”, while his father was a Muslim League worker. His days are long and hectic, from greet-and-meet sessions in the morning to rallies and marches as the day unfolds. But he says he feels thrilled. “I like being active, and if given an opportunity, will bring in all the valuable lessons football has taught me,” he says.
His close friend Vijayan could have been contesting from somewhere, too. Arguably the greatest footballer the state had produced, all three prominent political fronts aggressively wooed him, but he refused the proposals. “I humbly declined,” says Vijayan. “I need everyone’s love. I don’t have a commitment to a particular party because I’m a national figure.”
About 100 km from Nilambur, in Kozhikode district’s Vadakara — another constituency that swoons over football — the UDF-cushioned Revolutionary Marxist Party of India (RMPI) has accused the Election Commission of scrapping their “regular symbol”, a football, without allegedly informing them because a party in Goa is already using it.
The RMPI had to settle for television, a symbol under which its founder TP Chandrasekhar, who was murdered allegedly by CPI(M) members, had contested back in 2009. “For every election in the last 10 years, we have used football. It’s a symbol the voters identify us with. No one had a problem until last year (where Kerala had local body polls). But now suddenly they have a problem from somewhere,” says Chandrasekhar’s wife K K Rema, a candidate and sitting MLA of Vadakara, during a rally.
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The party alleges conspiracy and plans to approach the court later. Its leaders claim that the “late decision” has led to heavy losses, as they had to reprint posters and placards without the backing of funds like national fronts.
Then, there’s the Messi twist.
For half of last year, Vadakara and Nilambur, amongst most other towns, cities and villages in the state, had lived in the hope that Messi would visit for a friendly game. The state’s Sports Minister V Abdurahiman had reportedly even visited Spain to meet the Argentine legend’s representatives. But nothing fruitful emerged, and Messi’s India trip did not feature Kerala. The UDF and Congress have used this topic as a lightning rod to mobilise the youth.
Recently, at a rally in Kozhikode, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, “Football mania runs through the streets of Kerala, and I have seen how badly people wanted to see Messi. The CPI(M) promised to bring him, but we know what happened. To every youngster, this election is your chance to decide.”
A popular comedian-turned-character actor, Salim Kumar, who sympathises with the UDF, recently quipped during a Congress convention: “Messi would have told the delegates who approached him, ‘Brother, please spare my eight Ballon d’Or awards. All are gold. Would those that stole gold from Lord Ayyappa spare my trophies!’ That could be the real reason.”
