Sadiqali has his work cut out

The new IUML State president will have to strike a balance between his religious and political leaderships

The elevation of Syed Sadiqali Shihab Thangal as the new State president of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has come at a crucial juncture when the party is battling several issues in its chequered history without power at the Centre and in the State.

His de facto innings as the leader for a short span in the absence of his ailing brother Syed Hyderali Shihab Thangal, who passed away on Sunday, demonstrated his pragmatism of a competent and well-organised leader.

Now as the de jure leader, the 58-year-old scion of the Panakkad family has his work cut out to balance his political and religious leaderships as was artfully managed by his predecessors and elder brothers Hyderali Thangal and Syed Muhammedali Shihab Thangal, both revered by his contemporaries.

Probably his first job will be to set things right between the IUML and the section of the party-backed Samastha Kerala Jamiyathul Ulema leaders.

The disagreement between the political entity and the Sunni religious body has been simmering for years and eventually boiled over in public sphere after the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government’s decision on Waqf Board appointments. 

Further, he would have to be inducted into the Mushwara (supreme body) of the Samastha to become its vice president, a post held by Hyderali Shihab Thangal.

Known for his strong anti-CPI(M) stance, Sadiqali Thangal would have to tread cautiously in taking political decisions particularly when Islamic fundamentalism is getting a foothold in the State.