Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader K.M. Shaji said that he will approach the apex court to stay the High Court's order on Friday disqualifying him as MLA of the Azhikode Constituency, over a plea by his rival candidate M.V. Nikesh Kumar of the CPI(M), that he had resorted to communal campaign.
When contacted, Mr. Shaji said how he could use communal campaign to “influence election in his favour in the Constituency having only 21 percent Muslims.” He said neither his party nor he had indulged in any conmunal campaign for winning the election. “I cannot not be held responsible for some handbills circulated by some vested interests to make it appear that I used religion for election campaign,” he added.
Mr. Shaji also said that people who know him would not believe the charge that he had used religion to seek votes. In fact during the campaign, he had categorically said that he did not want votes of communalism, he pointed out.. He had been “ardently secular as a politician,” he added.