Ruling BJP assessing political implications of banning SDPI

Bengaluru: The Karnataka State government's decision to obtain police reports on riots and violence across the state and city before banning the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) has raised a doubt over the government's seriousness in banning the two outfits.

Is state government dragging its feet when it comes to banning SDPI and Popular Front of India (PFI? That is the big question doing the rounds in political circles. It is learnt that the state government and the BJP leadership is assessing the political implications of banning the two organisations.

To give impetus to the concerns, a senior BJP corporator on condition of anonymity, said that banning parties like AIMIM and SDPI are only detrimental to the BJP politically. Minorities have more inclined towards parties like All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and SDPI as they feel their voice will be heard. Hence they play a crucial role in splitting Congress votes. This obviously favours BJP, said the corporator.

It may be recalled that AIMIM played a major role in splitting Congress vote share during the assembly polls in 2013 and 2018. BJP has studied the voting pattern across the state in all the elections like gram panchayat, taluk panchayat, urban local body, assembly and parliamentary polls where Muslim vote share to BJP is very minimal. If the smaller parties split Congress votes the chances of BJP emerging victorious is strong, said sources. In the past two years, SDPI, formed in 2009, has gained more supporters by contesting rural and urban local bodies' polls.

They have made their presence at Dakshina Kannada, Chamarajnagar, Kodagu, Kolar, Yadgir, Bengaluru rural and Urban. Mujahid Pasha has won from Siddapura ward in BBMP polls.