SDPI is emerging as the alternative force beyond BJP and Congress: DK SDPI candidate Ilyas Thumbe
Exclusive interview with Vartha Bharati
Mangaluru: Ilyas Muhammed Thumbe, who has served as the Karnataka State President and National Secretary of PFI, SDPI National General Secretary and State President, is now the SDPI’s candidate from Dakshina Kannada Constituency for the upcoming Lok Sabha Election.
Among the 28 constituencies of the state, the party has fielded its candidate from only one constituency. Vartha Bharati caught up with Thumbe, who is preparing for the second round of his public rallies. Below are the excerpts from Vartha Bharati’s interview with Thumbe.
How has been the response of voters to your campaigns so far?
The response has been beyond our expectations. The youth community and the young voters are wise. They have the understanding of ground reality. Right from the day my nomination was announced at the SDPI Conference on March 17, we began our campaign. We have been actively campaigning on social media, we have been visiting homes for door to door campaigning trying to convey the message to the people as to why SDPI is in this electoral battle.
With Dakshina Kannada being the BJP’s bastion and this election having its own significance, there are rumors in the public that SDPI has joined hands with BJP to divide the minority votes and defeat Congress?
SDPI did not contest from this constituency for 23 years, yet the Congress could not win in the constituency. So if the SDPI is contesting this time how will it make a difference for them all of a sudden? SDPI did not contest in the 2018 assembly elections, yet Congress lost 7 out of 8 constituencies. Why? The Congress is wearing the mask of being a secular party but it doesn’t have any attributes of a secular party. It doesn’t have the courage and power to confront BJP. I can’t understand why SDPI should not contest election, this is a democracy and anybody can contest the election. We have not announced candidates from 27 other constituencies in order to keep the communal forces away, but Congress accusing us is a sign of desperation in their camp. In fact, the Congress has got into an agreement with the BJP.
There were calls for fielding a Muslim candidate from Congress here. Suppose if the Congress would have given the ticket to Muslim candidate, what would have been SDPI’s stand?
Not just Muslim candidate, we would have supported a Christian candidate from here as well. There were discussions within Congress in this regard so we waited for any such development in their camp. But when the chances looked bleak of any such candidature of Muslim or Christian we went ahead and announced my candidature from the constituency. We are now reaching out to voters through our own network with door to door campaigning.
What would you say about the BJP and Congress’ candidates from the constituency?
Everyone knows that BJP candidate Nalin Kumar Kateel has done nothing for the district in the last two-terms which he won. There is no point in re-electing an incompetent parliamentarian who cannot raise issues of the district in the parliament. If he wins again, it will be a great loss for the district. Congress candidate Mithun Rai has criminal charges against him. He was involved in physical scuffle with his own partymen during a party conference and has never been involved in any social struggle. He also doesn’t even have political experience to and his elevation for the candidature has upset many of the senior Congress leaders. All this will have an impact on the results of the election.
Congress with a new face as its candidate is expected to give strong competition to the BJP?
No not at all. Congress might have fielded a young, new face in the election but he can’t give a run to the BJP. In the Dakshina Kannada constituency only SDPI can give fight to the BJP. We will show our power to the Congress and BJP who are spreading anti-propaganda against us.
Amidst the battle between two major political parties Congress and BJP will people favor SDPI?
BJP emotionally deceives the voters while Congress has masked itself as a secular party. People are upset with what BJP has done and it is unlikely that Congress will win. But we are emerging as an alternative political force beyond these two. We are fighting against police violence, social issues, and fundamental rights and are not involved in hypocritical politics. So we are any-day different from Congress and BJP.
Can SDPI be an alternate for a major political party like Congress?
Yes it can be. SDPI candidate in 2014 polls received 27,254 votes. But this time the scenario and the picture are different. People are talking about SDPI everywhere. Congress party workers and activists are joining SDPI and they are involved completely in our campaigns.
The impression of the SDPI among people is that of it being a Muslims’ party. How true is that?
Muslim activists and leaders might be in more numbers in the SDPI, but SDPI is not a Muslim party. We also have a large number of Christians and Dalits in the party. The Congress has over the years only considered Muslims and Dalits as a vote bank. Nothing has been done for the welfare and development of these communities. Congress has issued only one ticket to Muslim candidate out of 28 constituencies while there are large numbers of Muslim voters in Dakshina Kannada, Bidar, Haveri, Raichur and Bijapur all of which were ignored while distributing tickets.
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2nd WT20I: Shafali, spin trio do star turns in India''s seven-wicket win
Visakhapatnam (PTI): Shafali Verma hit a blistering unbeaten 69 as India made short work of a paltry target to outclass Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second Women’s T20 International here on Tuesday.
India now lead the five-match series 2-0 after another one-sided victory, having restricted Sri Lanka to a modest 128 for 9 through a collective display of disciplined bowling from the spin trio of seasoned Sneh Rana, ably complemented by young spinners Vaishnavi Sharma and Shree Charani.
During the chase, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (14) fell cheaply but Shafali, enjoying new found confidence after a stellar show in the World Cup final, sent the bowlers on a leather-hunt during her 34-ball knock, winning it for her team in just 11.5 overs.
The hosts have now completed back-to-back successful chases within 15 overs which speaks volumes about the unit's sky-high confidence.
Shafali's innings had 11 punchy boundaries apart from a maximum.
The floodgates opened when left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera bowled a few flighted deliveries and Shafali would step out everytime to hit her over extra cover. Her footwork against slow bowlers was immaculate whether stepping out to loft the ball or rocking back to punch or pull.
Seeing her confidence, the newly appointed Delhi Capitals skipper Jemimah Rodrigues (26 off 15 balls) also attacked as the duo added 58 runs in just 4.3 overs.
By the time Rodrigues was out trying to hit one six too many, the match as a contest was over. Shafali completed her half-century off just 27 balls and completed the formalities in a jiffy.
Earlier, off-spinner Rana, who got a look-in after Deepti Sharma was ruled out due to fever, showed her utility keeping the Lankan batters under tight leash with figures of 1 for 11 in 4 overs, including a maiden which certainly is a rarity in T20 cricket.
Charani, who made an impression during India's ODI World Cup triumph, took 2 for 23 in her quota of overs, while Vaishnavi after an impressive debut in the opening encounter, finished with 2 for 32, not letting the Islanders get easy runs in her second spell.
The last six wickets fell for just 24 runs, but what stood out during India’s bowling effort was their superb ground fielding. After a patchy show in the previous game, the improved sharpness in the field resulted in three run-outs.
Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu (31 off 24 balls) looked in good nick as she deposited length deliveries from seamers Kranti Gaud and Arundhati Reddy over the ropes but it was Rana, who kept her quiet by repeatedly pitching on good length.
Unable to manoeuvre the strike and with the big hits suddenly drying up, Athapaththu chanced her arm at another delivery in which Rana had shortened the length slightly.
Not having transferred the weight into the lofted shot, Athapaththu's hoick was pouched cleanly by Amanjot Kaur at long-off.
This was after Athapaththu's opening partner Vishmi Gunaratne (1) had offered a simple return catch to Gaud.
Hasini Perera (22 off 28 balls) and Harshitha Samarawickrama (33 off 32 balls) did stitch a stand of 44 but they could never set the tempo against the Indian spin troika.
Once Hasini offered a tame return catch off a Charani full-toss, Sri Lankans never recovered and lost wickets in a heap towards the end.
