Row over SDPI support boils political waters in poll-bound Kerala
Political row erupts in Kerala over Social Democratic Party of India support, with Communist Party of India (Marxist) saying it won’t refuse votes, while Indian National Congress alleges a tacit deal ahead of Assembly polls
Thiruvananthapuram: With days counting for the crucial Assembly polls in Kerala, a political row over the support of the SDPI is brewing in Kerala, with the ruling CPI(M) saying that they won’t refuse anyone’s vote, while the opposition Congress questioned their secular stand.
Hitting back at the Congress-led UDF, CPI(M) leaders alleged that the SDPI withdrew its candidate from the fray in Manjeshwar constituency following the intervention of the leaders of the Congress-led alliance.
The Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) is the political arm of the banned Islamist organisation, Popular Front of India (PFI).
With the row refusing to die down, the SDPI leadership on Monday came out with a clarification that it would back one of the fronts in constituencies where it is not contesting, and they don’t view the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government as a total failure in all sectors.
The row erupted after the SDPI leaders had extended support to the ruling LDF in some constituencies, including in high-profile Nemom, where the BJP pins its hopes the most in the April 9 Assembly polls.
When the offering of support persuaded the opposition Congress to raise the allegation that there is a tacit political deal between the ruling CPI(M) and the SDPI, the Left leadership rejected the allegations but maintained that they would not refuse anyone’s vote.
During a press conference held in Kollam on Monday, CM Vijayan was visibly irritated when reporters repeatedly asked questions regarding SDPI support and the opposition’s allegations in this regard.
Senior CPI (M) leaders V Sivankutty and Thomas Isaac made it clear that the party won’t refuse anyone’s vote in the upcoming polls, but clarified that they didn’t indulge in any talk or understanding with anyone on the matter.
Sivankutty, also the LDF candidate in Nemom, said he cannot refuse votes from any section of society, claiming that doing so would be unconstitutional.
Sivankutty clarified that he had not stated he would specifically accept the votes of the SDPI but maintained that a candidate cannot reject support from any group.
“The Constitution guarantees the right to vote to everyone. As a candidate, I can only request people to vote for me. I cannot announce that I won’t accept the vote of a particular group. Does such a precedent exist anywhere in the country?” he asked while speaking to the media.
Stating that his objective in the election is to win, the CPI(M) leader said anyone who recognises and supports his political stand is free to vote for him.
“It is unconstitutional to say that we don’t want a particular section’s vote,” he added, while asserting that neither his personal stand nor that of his party would be compromised.
Dismissing the allegations of a deal with the SDPI, Sivankutty said he was not afraid of such claims and alleged that in the past, it was the Congress and the BJP that had entered into understandings in the Nemom constituency.
Sharing similar views, former finance minister T M Thomas Isaac said the LDF won’t indulge in talks or understanding with any outfit that does not go in line with the Left’s political approach.
“We won’t refuse votes offered by anyone. They have to decide why they are voting for us,” he told reporters in Pathanamthitta.
However, Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan reiterated his allegations of the “CPI(M)-SDPI deal” in certain constituencies.
Satheesan questioned whether Vijayan was willing to term the SDPI as secular and asked whether he had the courage to reject its support if he truly upheld secular values.
While addressing reporters in Paravur, he claimed that the Congress-led UDF was the first political front in Kerala to openly reject SDPI’s support during a parliamentary election, reiterating that the alliance opposes both minority and majority communalism alike.
The Congress leader further alleged that while the LDF publicly criticised the UDF over the Welfare Party issue, it was simultaneously holding “secret talks” with the SDPI.
Satheesan also accused the chief minister of attempting to strike deals with both the SDPI and the RSS behind the scenes, alleging that the LDF government was encouraging both minority and majority communalism.
Amidst the intense war of words, SDPI national president M K Faizy on Monday clarified that the SDPI’s prime priority is to back one of the fronts-LDF or UDF- in constituencies where it is not contesting.
Faizy said the party has extended open support to the LDF candidate in Nemom as the BJP has a strong chance of winning there.
He added that a decision on supporting the UDF in Manjeshwar, where the BJP is considered strong too, has not yet been taken.
“The party’s decision is not to extend support unnecessarily to any of the fronts. If there is no need for the society to know about our decision, we may not announce it publicly,” he said.
The leader also clarified that the SDPI does not view the LDF government as a “total failure”.
“That does not mean that we will support the LDF in the upcoming polls. We asked whether they need our votes. The CPI(M) does not say that they don’t want our votes,” he said.
He alleged that some Congress leaders in Kerala are opposing the SDPI and sought to know whom they were trying to please by doing so.
He also said there was no need for the SDPI to support those who oppose them, including the Leader of the Opposition in the upcoming polls.
Faizy also claimed that not all Congress leaders refused their votes.
