THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : The support extended by the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) has become a huge embarrassment for the Congress with the BJP raising it as a national issue. BJP state president K Surendran has fired the first salvo, saying Congress has struck a deal with the ‘terrorist forces that got training from outside the country.’
At a press conference in Kalpetta, Wayanad, on Tuesday, Surendran dragged Rahul Gandhi into the issue and asked him to clarify his stand on the tie-up with the SDPI. He said Rahul himself is contesting in Wayanad with the support of ‘religious terrorists.’
The BJP is likely to raise the issue more vigorously in the coming days to put the Congress on the defensive. It may be recalled that IUML’s support to Rahul Gandhi in Wayanad was a big issue in the constituencies in north India in the Lok Sabha polls in 2019.
BJP had alleged that the big leader of the Congress was constrained to find shelter in a constituency where the IUML has a strong presence. The campaign will be shriller after the support from SDPI, which is the political front of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI).
During the 2019 Lok Sabha election also, the SDPI had come out with an open claim that they had supported the UDF. They contested only in 10 seats where they came fourth in five constituencies. The SDPI leadership had not fielded candidates in Kasaragod, Thrissur, Idukki, Pathanamthitta and Kollam constituencies in the last Lok Sabha election to help the UDF. This decision helped the UDF to snatch Kasaragod, Thrissur and Idukki seats from the LDF. SDPI’s vote share had come down in the assembly elections which saw them getting only 0.4 % in the 2021 polls.
The rapport between SDPI and CPM became worse in 2018 when SFI leader M Abimanyu, a second-year degree student of Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam, was allegedly stabbed to death by activists of its student organisation, Campus Front of India.
However, Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan stoutly denied any tie-up with the SDPI.
“Only the Congress can take on the fascist forces and CPM cuts a sorry figure on this aspect. When I contested from Paravoor six times, Jamaat e Islami and Welfare Party of India had endorsed the LDF. In fact, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and former CPM secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan had visited the Jamaat Amir at their headquarters. Then the CPM maintained that they were secular,” said Satheesan.
The UDF cannot openly decline SDPI support as it is aware that it’s going to be crucial for them in Ponnani, Kannur and Palakkad. In these three constituencies, SDPI has a strong vote base ranging between 8,000 and 18,000.