Vantage | How Maldives' two 'India Out' champions, Yameen and Muizzu, fell out

Maldives’ President Mohammed Muizzu’s tenure is off to a shaky start. He is sparring with his political ally, former President Abdulla Yameen. These two leaders are not getting along. Yameen is not happy with Muizzu, they were members of the same coalition. Yameen was in the Progressive Party of Maldives or PPM which he left a few weeks ago to form a new political outfit. And this exit came as a surprise, after all, he was part of the ruling coalition and they had just won the election. The momentum was with Yameen. Then, why did he decide to leave? There’s a lot of buzz in Male. Reports say, Yameen’s exit is because of Mohamed Muizzu whose party is called the People’s National Congress.

Together, Yameen and Muizzu fought the election, and won. Muizzu became president, but now Yameen feels betrayed. His loyalists say their party has been hijacked and that Muizzu is sidelining them. Yameen’s lawyer is a man called Mohamed Jameel. He gave an interview recently and made some big claims. He said Yameen’s party leaders are blocking his involvement and not letting him run the party. They are ignoring his orders. It sounds like a coup that is apparently engineered by President Muizzu. That’s what the lawyer says that Muizzu has been ignoring Yameen and he hasn’t taken a single call from him. If true, this exposes a rift and it’s backed by multiple observers. They say Yameen is infuriated with Muizzu. He believes the president used his name and his India Out platform to win the election which was their biggest rallying point. Yameen, was the face of the India Out campaign. He was the one who made this election about opposing India. He wanted Indian troops to leave Male. There are about 70 of them stationed in the Maldives who are there to support the Maldivian defence forces. But Yameen wanted them to leave and he gave the slogan — ‘India Out’. However, Yameen could not contest the election as he was convicted last year in a money laundering case and sentenced to 11 years in jail. When their coalition won the election, his jail term was converted into house arrest. But he could not contest the polls. Initially, he wanted to boycott but later, Yameen ended up backing Muizzu. And in return, Muizzu made a pledge to uphold Yameen’s campaign promises including the India Out campaign. Muizzu kept that promise. Right after the swearing in, he spoke to the Indian leadership and raised the issue of the Indian military presence. Muizzu has formally sought a withdrawal. The discussions are on. But Yameen is not in the picture. He’s not part of the talks with India. He doesn’t hold a position in the government and now, he’s not even part of the ruling coalition. It’s a win-win for Muizzu who has replaced Yameen as the face of the India Out campaign. And despite Yameen’s exit, the president enjoys the support of his party. Many senior leaders of Yameen’s former party have spoken out and have supported Muizzu. In fact, a hashtag doing the rounds — “I stand with Muizzu.” The Maldivian defence minister who is from the same party has said, “The PPM is with President Dr. Muizzu. We are joining hands in the defence of President Muizzu’s government.” If this wasn’t bad enough, the defence minister is a nephew of Yameen. So, the statement is brutal. The writing is on the wall that the tables have turned on Yameen. He wanted India out of the Maldives. India is still there but he’s the one who’s been pushed out. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the writer. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost_’s views._  Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News, India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.