“In masjid & market, BJP’s Muslim candidate is treated as haram in Kerala”, Times of India, April 18, 2024:

“Dr Abdul Salam, BJP’s Muslim candidate, faces challenges in Malappuram. During an interaction with voters in a remote village near Pulikkal, he recounted his bitter experience after attending Eid Namaz at Madin Masjid in Malappuram town. Salam, a popular academic and former VC of Calicut University, faces challenges not just from his own community but also from his party’s disorganized machinery in Malappuram, he says.

M Abdul Salam meets the students of Madinathul Arabic College in Pulikkal, during his poll campaign KOCHI: For Dr Abdul Salam, BJP’s sole Muslim candidate in the state, each day of campaigning in the Malappuram constituency ‘where over 68.3% of voters are from the Muslim community’ is a trial.During an interaction with voters in a remote village near Pulikkal, he recounted his bitter experience after attending Eid Namaz at Madin Masjid in Malappuram town.

“After the Namaz, I came outside the mosque and while extending Eid wishes, a 60-year-old man insulted me and called me a traitor. Those around me remained silent. I was heartbroken. I’m also a Muslim, but they treat me this way because I joined BJP,” Salam said…..”

Read the full article at Timesofindia.indiatimes.com