Congress in a bind in Kerala as SDPI ‘support’ leaves it open to attack by rivals

Offering its support to the Congress, SDPI state president Muvattupuzha Ashraf Moulavi told the media Monday that there was “a strong political sentiment” against the BJP at the national level, and that the Congress was the countervailing force. “Hence, we have decided to support the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections,” Moulavi said, adding: “The Congress’s stand favouring a caste census also influenced our decision to back the party in Kerala.”

This did not mean that the SDPI had an “understanding” with the Congress, Moulavi clarified: “It is our stand… it is up to them”.

Moulavi said the SDPI would not be contesting the Lok Sabha polls in Kerala either, even as it fights 18 seats elsewhere in the country. In 2019, the SDPI had contested 10 seats in the state, though their vote share was calculated not separately but as ‘Others’ by the Election Commission.

Asked about the SDPI’s offer, UDF convenor and senior Congress leader M M Hassan said: “We cannot say no to SDPI votes. Every vote is precious and of equal value.”

However, the party’s Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, V D Satheesan, distanced the Congress from the SDPI decision. “We haven’t talked to them. We will not have any understanding with any extremist outfit. Many outfits have extended support to the UDF… they (the SDPI) supported the Congress considering its clout in the battle against fascism.

On Tuesday, BJP state president K Surendran said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi should himself make his stand clear on the SDPI support for the party. “The PFI is an organisation which is engaged in killing Hindus and Christians in the country. The party has been involved in several riots. The UDF is taking the support of religious extremists in Kerala, including Wayanad, where Rahul is contesting,” Surendran, the BJP candidate from Wayanad, said.

Surendran added: “Congress leaders say they want to think before taking a final decision on the SDPI offer. Why can’t they summarily reject it? They want the vote of anti-national elements.”

K T Jaleel, a former minister and MLA backed by the CPI(M), who has been leading the LDF’s outreach to Muslim organisations, also demanded that the Congress make its position clear. “Are the Congress and its ally Indian Union Muslim League ready to say a firm no to SDPI votes?” Jaleel said, adding that the two parties were “ready for any compromise” to win.

“It is pathetic that the IUML has been forced to abandon its secular face to win the seats of Malappuram and Ponnani,” Jaleel said, hinting that the UDF had turned to the SDPI for help in these two constituencies.

The CPI(M) has been trying to win over Muslims – a traditional Congress vote base – to its side via the IUML, while keeping away from right-wing elements. It has held a series of rallies against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in recent days, accusing the Congress of not speaking out due to its vote compulsions elsewhere. Outfits such as the SDPI and Jamaat-e-Islami were kept away from the CPI(M) events.

Like the CPI(M), the Congress is also aware that any sign that groups such as the SDPI and Jamaat are with it can backfire with the Christian community, which matches Muslims in numerical strength in the state. In the last Assembly elections, the Jamaat-e-Islami’s support to the UDF is believed to have cost it the Christian vote.

Congress LoP Satheesan referred to this to attack the “hypocrisy” of the LDF. “In past elections, the Jamaat-e-Islami supported the LDF. In 2019, when they supported the Congress, the CPI(M) discovered them to be extremist! In the last Assembly elections, the SDPI too was with the CPI(M). In Pathanamthitta municipality, the CPI(M) is ruling with SDPI support,” he said.

The ban on the PFI, imposed by the BJP government at the Centre, is one of the talking points of the party’s campaign in Kerala. This is also helping the BJP grow a base among the Christians, by playing on their fears of growing Islamic fundamentalism.

In Kerala, PFI leaders are accused in several well-known cases, including the 2010 chopping of the palm of a college professor on charges of insulting the Prophet.

Last month, a group of Muslim youths were arrested on charges of attacking a Christian priest at Poonjar in Kottayam. Even as both the Congress and CPI(M) tread carefully on the issue, the BJP stole a march by standing firmly behind the Christian community.

Polling will be held in Kerala for the Lok Sabha elections in one phase on April 26.