The names of veteran footballers I.M. Vijayan and U. Sharaf Ali are doing the rounds in connection with the Kerala Assembly elections later this year, marking a rare occurrence in a state where sportspersons have rarely played ball in the poll arena.
Ali, a former India defender, has expressed his readiness to contest from the Ernad constituency in Malappuram district as an Independent candidate backed by the ruling Left Democratic Front. The seat is held by the Indian Union Muslim League, which is part of the Congress-led United Democratic Front.
“It is a fact that I have expressed my willingness to contest from Ernad on an LDF platform. Now it’s up to them to take a call,” Ali told The Telegraph on Tuesday.
The 57-year-old who retired from Kerala police in May 2020 as the commandant of its Rapid Response and Rescue Force, said the LDF was his “natural choice” and he was not inclined towards any other political option. The Kerala elections are due in a couple of months.
“Although I was a KSU (Congress’s campus arm Kerala Students Union) sympathiser during my college days, I stayed away from politics after joining the police force. But since my retirement, I have been attracted by the secular platform of the LDF, which has provided good governance in Kerala, making it a natural choice for me,” Ali said.
Ali was part of the formidable Kerala police soccer team that also had Vijayan, former India captain V.P. Sathyan and C.V. Pappachan. They were the pillars of the Kerala state team that won the Santosh Trophy in 1991 and 1992.
E.N. Mohandas, the district secretary of the CPM in Malappuram, said the LDF was looking for “candidates from all walks of life”.
“We have identified several names who fit the requirements of our party and political front. They will be finalised by the end of this month or early March,” Mohandas said, dodging questions on whether Ali was among the probables for the Ernad constituency.
“We will first decide on seat sharing with our alliance partners and then finalise the candidates’ list,” he said.
While Ali has put the ball in the LDF’s court, Vijayan said he had “for now” declined multiple offers from political parties as he wanted to be identified only with football.
“I have been asked to contest by the LDF, UDF and the BJP. But I politely told the leaders who called me up that I would rather remain a footballer, at least for now,” Vijayan told this newspaper.
An inspector with Kerala police, Vijayan is also the technical director and coach of the state police’s football team.
“I have good relations with all political parties. But once I decide to take the plunge into politics, I will be bracketed as a person belonging to some party, for which I am not ready at the moment,” said the legendary forward and captain of the Indian side who had hugely successful stints in Calcutta giants East Bengal and Mohun Bagan.
“Whether in Kerala or in Bengal, people still love me as a footballer. I have five more years of service left and want to dedicate my life to football that gave me everything,” said Vijayan, who emerged from very humble beginnings to become one of the most sought-after players in the country during his heyday.
Asked if he was ruling out contesting in elections even in the future, Vijayan quipped: “Let’s see how things pan out when I get older and more mature to understand public life. For now, I can serve the people through football by coaching and mentoring children and youths.”
Although sportspersons are not too common in Kerala’s political landscape, former India pacer S. Sreesanth had unsuccessfully contested on a BJP ticket from Thiruvananthapuram in the 2016 Assembly polls. Although the BJP had celebrated his candidature with much fanfare, the cricketer who had been facing suspension after being arrested in a spot-fixing case came third.
