How JD(S), SDPI could breach Congress' Muslim vote-banks in Karnataka

The upcoming elections in Karnataka are in the spotlight for the entire country. However, this election season, a slew of political parties, including Opposition Congress and the JD(S), are in one-upmanship mode in wooing minority voters.

The latest to go one step ahead of others is former Chief Minister and Janata Dal-Secular (JDS) leader H D Kumaraswamy who said that if they are voted to power with a majority, his party will be open to have a Muslim chief ministerial candidate.

'If JD(S) comes to power independently in the coming election, there is an opportunity to make a member of the muslim community our chief minister,' said Kumaraswamy, as reported by local media. It is noteworthy to mention that C M Ibrahim who was once with the JD(S) and later joined grand Old party along with the Siddaramaiah team, has now turned back to the JD(S) to become its 'minority face'. This move will draw some Muslim votes towards the regional party and will hit the Congress.

He also proposed Dalit candidate or a woman for a Deputy chief minister post and said both the national parties have only looked at them as vote banks but never addressed any of their concerns.

In 2018 too, Kumaraswamy had tried winning Muslim votes by joining hands with minority leader and All India Majlis e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi.

For the unversed, Muslims comprise around 13% of the population in Karnataka. Their support is decisive in some 60 seats where community votes tally 20% or more.

This time, the regional party has planned to field a big number of Muslim candidates in as many as 30 constituencies, the Times of India reported.

Meanwhile, the SDPI or Social Democratic Party of India, which is trying to become the voice of Muslims, had decided to field 100 candidates. SDPI is the political arm of the outlawed Popular Front of India (PFI), which the Modi government banned last September. And the party is confident of splitting the minority votes.

Since 2013, SDPI has been contesting the Assembly elections. Its vote share was 3.2 per cent in that year and rose to 10.5% in the 2018 Assembly elections. It won six wards in the urban local body elections in 2021. Thus, a section of Muslims is shifting to SDPI.