Elyas Muhammad can pass off like a banker or a teacher too but he is not. He is the president of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) Karnataka unit. A Mangaluru Beary Muslim, Mr Muhammad is in the news after his party did well in the recent Urban Local Body (ULB) polls in Dakshina Kannada district. In conversation with Deccan Chronicle, he explained his concept of ‘secular and developed India,’ his party's rise, growth and close association with Congress leaders. As expected, he said the party could never hold a dialogue with the BJP or RSS as they were 'Manuvadis' and the BJP and SDPI were as different as 'day and night.' Here are excerpts from his interview.
To begin with, what does SDPI stand for?
Our commitment is to build our nation. Our motto is to make people free from hunger and fear. In spite of the country having so much resources, we remain poor. Communalism, corruption and big corporates are the reason for our backwardness. Power is concentrated in the hands of communal elements and corporates. Power to people is our mission statement.
Is your party growing in Karnataka?
We got a tremendous response, now, we have a strong foothold in all districts.
You say you want to fight communal elements. But, political parties including the Congress describe you as communal. These allegations are baseless. We want to bring about change in society through communal harmony. The Congress has to make allegations against us because, the more secular votes we get, the more votes the Congress will lose.
How different is your party from parties like MIM and MEP?
All these parties are family-centric. For instance, MIM is Owaisi family’s party. There is no democracy in that party. The MEP has no ideology, no vision. There are many Muslim parties like Muslim League (ML). The ML’s presence is restricted to Malappuram and Kozhikode. So, they are not a solution just because they are a Muslim party.
But yours is also a pro-Muslim party, isn’t it?
We give a platform to Muslims no doubt. But, we have people from all castes and communities. The Congress party like many other parties, used Muslims but failed to give them their due. We are for all, including Muslims. But the Congress party implemented the Sachar Committee report. Allocating funds and then quietly cancelling or withdrawing it will not empower Muslims. Both Sachar Committee and Ranganath Commission in fact proposed 15 per cent reservation for Muslims. It has not been implemented. Reservation in employment and education will help Muslims get empowered. The Congress failed to give solutions to the three crisis identified by these commissions, ie identity crisis, security crisis and equity crisis. Muslims gained nothing during Congress rule.
Will you be a threat to the Congress?
(Laughs) We want to be the voice of Muslims, Adivasis and Dalits. So, we are not a threat to the Congress party. In highly-polarised Dakshina Kannada district, you could make a mark. But inspite of the high concentration of Muslim votes, your party could not make an impact in Bidar, Kalaburgi and Raichur districts.
We are there in every district. What happens is that whenever we contest, a fear is instilled among Muslims that if SDPI contests, the BJP will win. So Muslims will not back us. But, we managed to make inroads in Chamarajanagar, Mysuru and Shivamogga.|
If you see the Dakshina Kannada urban local body polls, you won in wards which were highly polarised.
No, we won where our cadre is strong.
Is it a co-incidence that wherever your cadre is strong, society is polarised?
No. Education matters. The places where educated people joined us, we grew. In some places, those who are not exposed to education, joined us but still we could not gain a foothold.
It’s strange that you are strong in DK district, but not present in Udupi. Why?
In Udupi, there is a straight fight between the Congress and BJP and the Muslim population is comparatively less there. If we fight, it will help the BJP.
If you go by this formula, after some time, your cadre may feel disenchanted because you support secular parties and deny your cadre a chance to contest. They may even desert you..
That’s why we contested in places where we could win this time. This sent a message to people in other places about our presence so that they would vote for us when we contest next time.|
In the last Assembly elections, you planned to contest many seats but you settled for a few after the Congress forced you not to contest…
You are right. Frankly speaking that strategy did not benefit our party. We learnt a lesson and in coming elections, we have to strategise differently.
But see what happened in the last election. Then home minister (R. Ramalinga Reddy) had said it was the BJP which had a tacit understanding with you and PFI. The Congress does not want to associate with you..
The Congress fears that if they come with us, the BJP will carry out a propaganda and get benefits. So, they do not want to associate with us in public. Actually, they are on good terms with us.
AICC president Rahul Gandhi has been adopting a ‘soft Hindutva’ approach. How do you view this?
First, this is not the Congress way of functioning. Two, the BJP will rightly say, his actions are artificial and this is an election gimmick. I feel he does not have to appease Hindus or Muslims. Let him follow the legacy of his party. The problem is the Congress has a very weak leadership. If Congress remains good, actually, there is no scope for SDPI.
What is your plan for the 2019 Parliament polls?
No, we do not have plans to contest. But in north India, we may think about it.
