SDPI threatens to go it alone in Karnataka assembly polls, but Congress seeks compromise

Trouble seems to be brewing between the potential allies, with the SDPI claiming that the Congress betrayed it in the 2018 assembly polls in Karnataka, though there was a tacit understanding between them.

However, the Congress on Friday expressed hope that the parties would fight the upcoming elections together.

Addressing reporters at Bantwal in Dakshina Kannada district on Thursday, SDPI national general secretary Ilyas Thumbe said, “We are not going to make the mistake (of placing trucks with the Congress) again.” There is no question of the SDPI pulling out of the fray this time, said Thumbe, who has been nominated as the SDPI candidate for the Bantwal constituency in the upcoming assembly elections.

Responding to a reporter’s question today on Thumbe’s claims, Karnataka Congress campaign committee chief MB Patil said, “We still expect the SDPI to support the Congress to defeat the BJP.” “Congress is a secular party, SDPI may not win (seats), they may divide votes, which will affect Congress.” Thumbe had earlier said that the SDPI had lost badly in the last elections by relying on the Congress, which had offered support to him in some constituencies.

The SDPI had decided to field 25 candidates during the last election. However, at the insistence of influential Congress leaders, a compromise was reached on two conditions.

It was agreed that the SDPI would contest only three seats and the Congress would field weak candidates there and ensure that the SDPI candidates emerged victorious from those seats. The SDPI was supposed to support Congress candidates in other seats in return, he recalled.

However, the Congress did not stick to its word as some of its leaders joined the BJP. Thumbe said it was a betrayal on the part of the Congress, due to which the BJP won several seats.

This time SDPI has started focusing on election work from the grassroots level itself. Meanwhile, senior BJP leader and Union Minister of State Shobha Karnadlaje said, it is clear that Siddaramaiah, as the Chief Minister of the Congress government, has submitted ‘B Report’ to Popular Front of India (PFI), Karnataka Forum for Dignity (KFD) Helped by doing Cases against him with SDPI for “politics of accommodation”, and to appease a particular community and release him from jail.

“Congress and SDPI are two sides of the same coin, there is no difference between them. The relationship between Congress and SDPI should be probed. There should be a discussion on this and people should understand the mindset of the Congress.”

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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)