SDPI, PFI gear up to face BJP challenge

KOZHIKODE: After the BJP national council in Kozhikode made a clarion call to the state BJP unit to gear up for 2019 Lok Sabha polls in Kerala, the battle for Parliament elections has literally begun in the state that too with BJP’s political opponents like Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and Popular Front of India (PFI) launching their spade work for the polls much earlier than expected to influence voters.
Though the SDPI leadership is not openly admitting to activating their machinery for polls to counter the BJP’s vigorous campaign in the state, undercurrents clearly point out that both the SDPI and the PFI are preparing to resist the BJP’s prospects in the state through various political campaigns.“We’ve not set an eye on Lok Sabha polls but as a political party we have certain targets and our campaigns are aimed at reaching out to the people. From October 2 to October 8, we will be launching a state-wide campaign on communal harmony,” said SDPI state president P Abdul Majeed Faizi.
Political analyst N M Pearson said the situation has become totally volatile and such campaigns by SDPI and PFI will polarise Muslim votes. “The SDPI and the PFI are aiming for polarisation of Muslim votes in order to take on BJP. But it will have a negative effect and create polarisation of Hindu votes in favour of BJP,” he added. The PFI is already on with its month-long campaign against the politics of hatred and has now decided to organise a rally at Kozhikode beach on October 1 in connection with it.
BJP state general secretary M T Ramesh said these kind of campaigns would in no way affect the party’s prospects in the state. “There have been attempts by certain organisations to paint the BJP as anti-Muslim but it won’t have any effect as people now know what we stand for. We will be reaching out to the minority communities and work in coordination with them for the polls,” he added.
According to the SDPI, the party contested in all 20 constituencies in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls in Kerala and without any alliances succeeded in increasing votes more than 70 per cent compared to the last assembly elections. After UDF, LDF and BJP, the SDPI came next with 2,73,847 votes followed by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) with 2,56,662. The share of BSP was 71,262 votes.
The Welfare Party of India could secure only 68,332 votes. In Malappuram constituency, the SDPI candidate Nasarudheen Elamaram got 47,853 votes, stood fourth after Muslim League, CPM, and BJP.

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