Malappuram: The Indian Union Muslim League on Monday nominated Supreme Court lawyer Haris Beeran as the party's candidate to the Rajya Sabha. However, it appears the decision was not unanimous. The past week saw hectic political maneuvering for and against Beeran. But finally, party state president Syed Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal decided to go with Beeran.

The Muslim Youth League (MYL), IUML’s youth wing, whose leaders have been reaching out to northern states for the past few years, had expected one of its leaders to get the seat. VK Fyzal Babu, MYL’s national general secretary, was considered to be a strong contender.

MYL stated that if one of its leaders got MP status, that would help revive the party in the north, where it enjoys a nominal presence. “Beeran largely stayed in Delhi while many incidents happened in neighbouring states,” an MYL office-bearer said referring to the several delegations he was part of, visiting and aiding the victims of violence against the minority community in the north.

Beeran’s nomination comes at a time when the performance of party MPs, both in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha during the last two terms have come in for sharp criticism.

IUML national general secretary PK Kunhalikutty, who won the Malappuram by-election after the death of E Ahamed, did not attend the voting on December 28, 2018, when the government pushed the crucial Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2018.

In August 2017, Kunhalikutty and Rajya Sabha MP PV Abdul Wahab gave the vice-presidential voting between NDA's Venkaiah Naidu and the opposition’s Gopal Krishna Gandhi a miss.

The party hopes Beeran's background in law would elevate the IUML's performance in the Upper House.