Mangalore
By C D Souza
In a major development having wide ramifications police raided the office of Populr Front of India located in Perumbala Bridge at Narath in Kasaragod yesterday (April 25) and seized pamphlets and CD. The raid comes close to the arrest of 21 PFI activists from Kannur and police had reportedly recovered bombs and lethal explosives from them. The police said that the activists of PFI were getting arms training in the building under construction in Kannur. The police also believe that the activists are linked to terrorist outfits.
This disturbing news comes at a time when Karnataka state is going for the crucial assembly elections. Since Kasargod forms the border state of coastal Karnataka this news needs to be viewed with the seriousness it deserves because activities of PFI will have wide and long term ramifications for coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts where gulf money plays a crucial role in fostering terrorist outfits. Whether this development has anything to do with elections in Karnataka is yet to be ascertained but it is certainly a cause for concern for all.
Popular Front of India is known for its notorious militant activities and Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) is the political wing of PFI. SDPI’s growth as political force in Dakshina Kannada has been quite a surprise to all. The party is contesting in seven constituencies of Dakshina Kannada and a total of 25 seats in Karnataka in the 2013 assembly elections. It has entered into poll alliance with BSP leaving 199 seats for that party to contest. The presence of its candidates in seven of the eight assembly seats (leaving Belthangady to its partner BSP) of Dakshina Kannada has been a cause of concern for the Congress which has been considering itself as the sole claimant of Muslim votes. This is particularly true in Mangalore and Mangalore North constituencies where the Congress has fielded minority Muslim candidates in U T Khader and Moideen Bava respectively. The Congress is also sensing trouble in Bantwal which has a substantial Muslim votes and SDPI candidate may pose trouble for the Congress.
Akbar Ali, District General Secretary of SDPI says “SDPI was formed with a view to unite the minorities, backward classes and dalits who are not yet in the political mainstream of the country. We have seen that in the last 65 years Congress was only interested in the votes of the Muslims and we don’t want the Congress to continue using us merely as a vote bank community. Ours is a cadre-based party and we are trying to emerge as a third force in the state next to the Congress and BJP”. He also stated that though in the short run the Muslim votes might split and it is common in the early stage of the formation of a political party.
Akbar Ali says PFI has presence in 23 states of India and is secular. About the arrest of 21 members of PFI he says his party would not hesitate to criticize if PFI is involved in activities that are detrimental to the country. But also said the recent incident might a strategy of the Congress to browbeat SDPI which is gaining popularity in Karnataka.
Fight for minority votes
There are about 1.7 lakhs voters in Mangalore and half of them form minority vote bank and hence Congress has always managed to win from here without being really challenged. The situation however, is different this around due to a number of developments. There are 15 candidates in the fray here and eight of them are Muslim candidates. Khader camp is particularly disconcerted by the dissidence of about 150 Musims who call themselves as loyal Congressmen and have vowed to fight against Khader. However Khader and his entourage are particularly worried about the presence of SDPI candidate Akram Hassan, a former journalist, and suddenly the Congress party looks vulnerable. The Muslim league has fielded Riyaz Harekala from here and all the three consider Khader as their main opponent. Apart from this Congress candidate Khader also faces BJP’s Chandrahas Ullal and the BJP is making desperate attempts to wrest the constituency from Congress taking advantage of the chaos among Muslim voters.
For the Congress the main fear is that the Muslim votes might get divided among the three Muslim candidates in fray thus upsetting its apple cart. SDPI is particularly expected to walk away with the maximum of the split votes thus posing a threat to U T Khader who had won by a margin of around 7000 votes in 2008.
A similar situation is evident in Mangalore North where Moideen Bava of the Congress is facing the challenge of BJP sitting MLA Krishna Palemar. Even JD(S) has fielded a Muslim candidate here, further adding to the confusion. While Krishna Palemar is expected to romp home to victory Muslim voters will be in a quandary choosing between Congress, SDPI and JD(S) candidates. Many Muslims are expected to vote for Palemar who is said to have good rapport with them. In Bantwal Ramanatha Rai is in a piquant situation facing a political novice in BJP’s Rajesh Naik in addition to facing threat from SDPI candidate. Having won in 2008 by a slender margin of about 1200 votes Ramanatha Rai will have an arduous task ahead of him.
Congress candidate from Mangalore North Moideen Bava agreed that SDPI has the potential to split Muslim votes. “SDPI is creating trouble for the Congress by dividing the votes. I only wish good sense would prevail and god would give them the ability to think and act wisely”, Bava stated without commenting further.
Sudden Emergence
SDPI emerged on the political scene of coastal Karnataka when the party candidate Ayaz from Katipalla defeated sitting Mayor Gulzar Banu in the recently concluded ULB elections by a considerable margin causing one of the biggest upsets. With that win SDPI has shown it cannot be taken for granted by other political parties. Interestingly it may be news to many to know that SDPI has representations in 16 states of the country.
At the moment it looks as though SDPI’s presence is detrimental to the Congress and may help the BJP in the elections. But one has to take the danger posed by the party in the longer run. Political parties of Karnataka which proclaim to be secular are maintaining a steadied silence over the emergence of SDPI, a Muslim militant outfit, even as they leave no opportunity to take a dig at other such outfits to prove their so called secular credentials. It is also a matter of concern that the SDPI has grown by leaps and bounds in the coastal districts of Karnataka especially during the BJP rule.
SDPI is the political wing Popular Front of India (PFI) and there in lie the real danger. It may be recalled that PFI was alleged to have links with banned Islamic Terrorist Organization SIMI and its chairman was the national SIMI secretary. Though this has been denied as baseless it is a naked truth that most of the office bearers of PFI were identified with SIMI.
One may also recall that in the recent exodus of students of North East following communal riots in Assam last year, PFI is alleged to be behind the SMS that led to the mass exodus. With this backdrop, one cannot view the emergence of SDPI merely in terms of short term political gains. Whether the BJP benefits due to the result of the split of votes is immaterial if we go by the previous history of PFI and such militant outfits.
Assam Example
It is also pertinent at this stage to recall that Assam has been in trouble largely due to the growth of All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) formerly known as Assam United Democratic Front. With the Muslim population in Assam increasing with each passing day (thanks to the infiltration from border) AIUDF managed to win considerable seats in 2006 to emerge as the state’s main opposition party behind the Congress with a landslide victory. With the success of AIUDF there arose demand for a special administrative zone for their Muslim dominated Western Assam where they outnumber indigenous people like the Bodos and the Rabhas. The frequent communal clashes in Assam were also attributed to the militant activities of AIUDF. So much so, this kind of ethnic conflict is expected to spread beyond Assam to other neighboring states like Nagaland and Meghalaya under the benign rule of the Congress.
Paradoxically, closer home in coastal Karnataka, neither the so called secular parties who shout at the top of voice with their pseudo secular tag or the so called Hindu communal outfits have raised their voice against the emergence of militant Muslim outfit. Even the minority Catholics who are determined to teach a lesson to the BJP and are working overtime for J R Lobo’s win to gain an upper hand, seems unaware of the danger lurking in their own backyard.
If all of them continue to feign innocence or try to pose as secular and allow militant outfits like SDPI to make inroads coastal Karnataka is sure to snowball into Assam-like situation very soon. (Posted on April 26 , 2013 @ 1.30pm)
this article is just another paid article for congress
To begin with, the SDPI is a Cadre based party and has its own vote share which is not dependent upon any division but ideology and reach. The division of votes is an inevitable thing in politics, but that doesn’t mean that the everyone who is not in congress has join hands with BJP?? There is JDS, there is Left, there are Independents, now going by the authors’ criteria, JDS, Left, independents all have understanding with BJP to divide congress and have join hands with BJP?? in 2008 there was no SDPI and popular front supported congress still congress lost. Why?? Was it SDPI? Or congress own deeds?
There is no doubt that congress will be under fix because SDPI will be cutting its vote, but the notion that SDPI depends upon congress or BJP to get votes is naive. As put into smallest sentence by a friend of me (who happens to be Dist president of a students organization of a Party) “The reason of popularity is that SDPI is working tirelessly on the ground since 4 years, whereas our party takes to roads only at the time of election” .Secondly SDPI concentrated of the polling percentage. ex. Sarvagnanagar in Bangalore has 40% muslim votes, But the polling percentage was only 38% (lowest in Karnataka) SDPI is more concerned about the rest 62% of voters, so maybe the party will cut a few voters of congress but the majority of votes will be from the 62% of the unpolled votes of last time and this is not just an excuse . The places where SDPI won the elections in ULBs has more Polling than previous years. In Gulbarga where party won a Corporator, the percentage of polling was highest in whole city.
SDPI has declared many times that it sees all the parties as enemy in Electoral politics be it any. The authors claim that “secretly” SDPI think congress as rival is just another misconception .SDPI sees both congress and BJP as one. the claim that SDPI only speaks against congress or see congress as only rival is also a half truth .SDPI is a Secular Party with open membership to all religion, naturally Its vote share and target will be secular electorate. Secular electorate never votes for BJP so there is no point in criticism of BJP infront of Secular electorate. The Muslim electorate votes for only congress mostly because it has no other option. Even the congress admits to it. So the Secular electorate responds only when spoken about congress. This is evident in the approach of the other parties such as JDS and LEFT. SDPI speaks against BJP too but in electoral politics it’s unnecessary to speak about BJP in front of secular electorate, so it’s a strategical thing not bjp-friendship. The author seriously needs to open up his eyes. Inspite of the fact that SDPI leaders have clearly stated many times that in electoral battle everyone’s our enemy, but in agitative politics only BJP (& sangh parivar oriented parties) are untouchables to us. How has congress responded to this ? By attacking popular front in Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and by tagging Popular front as extremist etc etc!. Congress has been more anti-minority than BJP in Kerala and Andhra Pradesh & Assam and there is no second opinion to that. For all the genuine problems of Muslims congress has only one answer “secular votes will get divide, and BJP will come to power”. How are Muslims supposed to develop if that’s the only solution congress has to offer them? If the Muslim parties divide votes and BJP benefits or there is some kind of polarization. Then how would the author explain BJP drawing blank and congress gaining in Kerala, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, UP, WB inspite of the presence of not one but multiple Muslim parties?
Sir
Its just another party to mislead and confuse among innocent Muslim’s. SDPI’s track record is well known to the society, recent arrest of 21 militants in kerala, belongs to Popular front of India a parent body of SDPI. In the interest of Muslim community it self, they either choose known devils Congress, BJP or JDS, rather than unknown monster like SDPI. Even if Muslims disagree with mainstream parties or their credentials, they can vote for good independent candidates. If Muslims supports fundamentalist outfits like SDPI, that will put into trouble for democratic fabric of the nation.
N. Ameen