Haven't heard of Saddam Beach? Welcome to Tirurangadi

The plaque bearing the name of this tiny hamlet has been washed away, but everyone knows why it came to be called Saddam Beach in the early 1990s.

While nobody bothered to put the nameplate back, neither the inhabitants of the 2-km Muslim village of fishermen nor political parties are keen on changing its name.

"When the US, under Bush, attacked Iraq, this village was named Saddam Beach to show solidarity with the Iraqi leader. It became known because of the name and no one wants to change it," said Maroof and Mohammad Kutty, fishermen of the village, which falls in the Tirurangadi constituency of the Muslim-dominated Malappuram district.

The CPM-led LDF is hoping to weaken UDF's predominance in the region, which has been backing the Muslim League.

"In the last election, the LDF had lost narrowly by just a one per cent swing. If you look at the break-up, the LDF polled more than the UDF, except in Malappuram. This time, there is a favourable situation for LDF," said former CPM general secretary Prakash Karat.

Like in the rest of the district, in Saddam Beach, too, villagers have consistently voted for UDF's IUML, but some said that this time the LDF candidate's role in spearheading the Janakeeya Vikasana Munnani, which took on the IUML, has some support.

While the UDF has fielded IUML's PK Abdurabb, the state education minister, the LDF has put up CPI's Niyas Pulikkalath. Abdurabb had won by more than 30,000 votes in the 2011 assembly poll.

Amidst images of politicians on the walls of the LDF office is that of Che Guevara, the Argentina-born revolutionary. For the children of the village, he is a hero.

Outside a small house on the beach, three college students-- Nishab, Sharif and Ali-- all first-time voters, said they had asked their elders whether they loved Saddam so much that they named the village after him. While Sharif said he supported UDF, the other two said they would vote for the LDF.

"The children of the village will become doctors and engineers, not fishermen," said Masood, who, along with others, has just returned from sea. Some bigger houses have come up alongside the road, a reflection of the prosperity of the Gulf returnees.

According to MN Karasserry, who has been fighting religious fundamentalism, the Saddam phenomenon reflected the political association of the Left and Jamaat-e-Islami. "The Jamaat, Russia and Left stood by Saddam against the US. Its an anti-imperialism stand and became a platform for union of Communists and Islamists," he said.

A CPM leader said after episodes like what happened in JNU, the Left was seen as a force which was taking on the "right-wing"politics of the BJP and the RSS. Besides, the LDF is counting on "anti-incumbency" factor to take on the IUML-UDF in its bastion, in a state with a 29 per cent Muslim population.

The split in Muslim vote in Tirurangadi, from where Congress's AK Antony had won in 1995 after he was made chief minister, could reflect in other constituencies of Malappuram. Of the 16 seats in the district, the UDF won 14, of which 12 were IUML candidates the in 2011 assembly polls.

In last year's local body elections, the Muslim League suffered a setback in Parappanangadi and Kondotty municipalities in the district. The UDF failed to retain its winning streak, securing just 20 seats, while the Janakeeya Vikasana Munnani, comprising a faction of Congress, CPI, CPM, Welfare Party and PDP among others, won 18 seats in Parappanangadi.