The outcome of the Karnataka assembly elections is nearly certain. As the counting of votes entered its final leg, the Congress party appears to be securing a comfortable majority by bagging 136 seats, while the BJP is obtaining 65 seats and the JD(S) is securing 19 seats. In terms of vote share, the Congress has received 42.94%, while the BJP has obtained 35.95% of the votes. The vote share of the JDS stands at 13.32%.
While the state witnessed a tough three-cornered contest between the incumbent BJP, Congress and JD(S), there were a few others like the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the political wing of the outlawed Islamic outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) and Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM which had set their eyes to make inroads into the state.
Promising a stiff challenge in the May 10 assembly polls, SDPI first declared that it would run candidates for 100 seats. It made tall claims that SDPI had started focussing on election work right from the ground level this time and would go alone in Karnataka assembly polls. It even released a list of the first 54 constituencies from which it intended to select its candidates, but their enthusiasm waned even before the state’s fight for the throne got underway.
At the beginning of this month, while all other parties were putting their best foot forward by running extensive campaigns to win over voters, the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) declared that it would contest only 16 Assembly seats in the upcoming Karnataka Assembly Election 2023 in order to ‘help’ Congress in defeating the BJP. Five of these seats, Puttur, Mangaluru, Bantwal, Belthangady and Moodbidri, fall in the district of Dakshina Kannada, while the sixth seat is Kaup in Udupi district.
The decision taken by the SDPI had reportedly come a day after Congress released its manifesto for the elections and stated that it would impose a ban on Hindu organisations like Bajrang Dal.
SDPI national general secretary Elyas Thumbe confirmed the development and said, “The initial plan was to contest 100 seats, we dropped the plan as the ground situation looks fertile for Congress to win and for BJP to lose the Karnataka Election 2023. We told our SDPI workers to go door to door and campaign for Congress and JD(S).”
Now, out of the 16 SDPI candidates who contested the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections, 15 had to forfeit their deposits as they failed to secure one-sixth of the votes polled. What is even more humiliating for the SDPI is that out of these 15 who lost their deposit, two candidates namely Angadi Chandru from Moodigere constituency and Sayyed Isahaq from Raichur could manage to secure only 441 and 632 votes respectively.
Puttur candidate Shafi Bellare charged with killing BJYM leader Praveen Nettaru
SDPI President Abdul Majeed proved to be the party’s lone ray of hope as he went on to become the only candidate who did not lose his deposit in the Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023 by securing 41037 votes.
Amongst those who lost deposits was Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) candidate Shafi Bellare from Puttur lost his deposit in Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023. Bellare is one of the accused of murdering Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) leader Praveen Nettaru. SDPI is the political wing of the banned Islamic terrorist organisation Popular Front of India (PFI).
Bellare was arrested by National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection to Nettaru’s murder case. As per the chargesheet filed by the investigation agency, Bellare did recce of Praveen Nettaru’s home and provided information about activities. When the possibility of Bellare contesting the elections was announced in February 2023 by SDPI, they claimed he was “falsely accused” in the case.
As per ECI’s website, Bellare got less than 3,000 votes.
Mangaluru SDPI candidate faces sedition charges, accused of hatching a conspiracy to attack PM Narendra Modi in the Phulwari Sharif area of Bihar
Another SDPI leader Riyaz Farangipet, who contested from Mangaluru (Ullal) and also lost the deposit, faces alleged sedition charges. Riyaz, the national secretary of SDPI, was accused of hatching a conspiracy to attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Phulwari Sharif area of Bihar on July 12, 2022. The investigations allegedly revealed Riyaz’s links with the accused persons. The NIA had filed an FIR against him. He is alleged to have taken part in the meetings with the accused persons in planning.
In 2022, NIA lodged an FIR against him on charges of sedition. The case is being investigated under IPC Sections 120, 120 (B), 121, 121 (A), 1s3(A) and 1s3(B) read with 34.
Last year, NIA raided his houses in connection with the Phulwari Sharif terror module case busted by the Bihar police on the evening of July 11 last year. It is notable that Bihar police had revealed that the module had plans to disrupt a rally of PM Modi in Bihar earlier that month. The NIA revealed that the searches conducted had led to the seizure of digital devices and various incriminating documents.
Apart from this, there are many cases lodged against him in Belthangady, Mangaluru South, Konaje, Mangaluru North, and East police stations in Dakshina Kannada district. He is facing charges of creating enmity between groups and obstructing the duty of policemen.
As per ECI’s website, Riyaz Farangipet got a little over 15,000 votes.
SDPI members admit that the banned Jihadi outfit PFI made SDPI a backyard of its erstwhile cadres to continue operations in Karnataka
On 28 September 2022, the Central government banned the Islamist outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) and eight of its associates for five years under a stringent anti-terror law, accusing them of having links with global terror organisations, including ISIS. However, its political affiliate Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) was the only organisation of the radical Islamist outfit that was not banned by the Central government last year. Therefore, after being declared illegal in September of last year, the Popular Front of India (PFI) made SDPI a backyard of its erstwhile cadres to continue operations in Karnataka.
India Today probed that matter and came to the conclusion that with the Popular Front of India (PFI) banned and its top leaders jailed, the outfit’s political wing the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) is trying hard to re-group its cadres and strengthen the party in Karnataka. The banned outfit has reportedly made SDPI a backyard of its erstwhile cadres to continue operations in the state.
India Today caught SDPI leaders on camera admitting that SDPI has absorbed jihadis from the outlawed outfit PFI.
