Malappuram: V Abdurahiman, Minister for Sports and Wakf in Kerala and a legislator from Tanur Assembly constituency, has formally joined the Communist Party of India (Marxist). Abdurahiman, a former Congress leader, has taken membership of the CPM – the leading constituent of the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) in the state - nine years after ditching his old party.

Having resigned from the Congress in 2014 after rebelling against the then leadership, Abdurahiman had been contesting elections under the banner of a party named National Secular Conference.

It is now learnt that the CPM will include the minister in its Tirur area committee.

Early career
Abdurahiman, who belongs to Pookkayil in Tirur, ventured into the political area through KSU, the students’ wing of the Congress. He soon held positions such as unit secretary and Tirur taluk secretary of the KSU and Tirur block secretary and district secretary of the Youth Congress. Subsequently, he was elected as a member of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC). Abdurahiman served as vice-chairperson of Tirur Municipal Council for five years and chairperson of a municipal standing committee for the same period.

Assembly polls
He was elected to the state Assembly twice – in 2016 and 2021 – from Tanur, Malappuram. In 2016, he won the seat with a majority of 4,918 votes. However, in 2021, he faced a tough contest against P K Firoz of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML). Even though his majority fell to a mere 985 votes, Abdurahiman retained the seat and became a minister for the first time.