PFI, which was formed following Babri Masjid demolition of 1993, has been accused of encouraging terrorist activities, along with other radical Islamist organisations, for some time now. But the party has denied the charges over the years. Recently too, there have been political killings and forced conversions attributed to PFI activists.
SDPI has announced that it would contest all the seats in Dakshina Kannada and a total of 50 seats on its own across the state. The party’s decision comes after it was apparently snubbed by the JD(S) and the Congress.
SDPI, which has done well in the local body polls in coastal Karnataka, can potentially damage the traditional bipolar electoral system of the region. The party won 39 and 13 seats in the Dakshina Kannada and Udupi district gram panchayat elections respectively in 2015. The party achieved encouraging results at the Mangaluru urban local body polls as well.
According to poll observers, it is the Congress that is likely to be the biggest loser if the SDPI is able to repeat its success in the local polls, as both parties are believed to be dependent on Muslim votes.
Food and Civil Supplies Minister UT Khader, who is one of the tallest Congress leaders from the region, had even said that BJP’s Pratap Simha’s victory in Mysuru-Kodagu in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls was only due to a split of the Congress and SDPI votes.
But noted political scientist Professor Muzaffar Assadi says, “I think it will not cut much ice this time. Minorities do not want to take a risk by dividing their votes and make way for the BJP except for two-three seats around Bantwal. They would not have an impact in urban areas. They might tilt the balance in the BJP’s favour as margins can be very fine.”
In 2013, the Congress had emerged victorious in seven out of the eight seats in Dakshina Kannada, all of which had been held by the BJP in 2008. Similarly, in Udupi, another coastal district, the Congress superseded expectations by winning three out of five seats. The picture was the exact opposite in 2008 when the BJP had managed 4 seats.
But the SDPI does not believe that it would block Congress votes and denies any understanding with the BJP.
“We do not care if the Congress or the BJP suffers due to us. We have not built the party for that. Our party is built on the concept of social democracy. The Constitution is not being implemented, there is only corruption. Our voter base is not only limited to Muslims,” a party functionary at the region said.
“We have corporators in six municipalities/corporations across all the regions in the state,” he added.
Controversy surrounding PFI
