Karnataka: SDPI fields Ismail Shafi Bellare, accused in BJP leader’s murder

Bengaluru: The move by the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) to field Ismail Shafi Bellare, accused in the murder of BJP Yuva Morcha leader Praveen Kumar Nettaru, and Riyaz Farangipet as its candidates in the communally-sensitive Dakshina Kannada district has become a topic of discussion in Karnataka ahead of the May 10 Assembly elections.

Nettaru (32) was hacked to death by bike-borne assailants on the night of July 26 last year at Bellare in Dakshina Kannada district.

SDPI is fielding 19 candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections. Dubbed as a party of minorities, SDPI hopes to win four to five seats and make entry into the Karnataka legislature. According to sources, SDPI is likely to give a tough fight to former minister and senior Congress leader U.T. Khader in the Mangaluru (Ullal) Assembly constituency.

The party emphasizes on ‘agitative politics’.

Talking to IANS, SDPI’s national secretary Riyaz Farangipet said that his party is not just active during elections, but throughout the year it represents the people on one issue or the other across India.

“Despite not being in power, SDPI ensures that the schemes of the government reaches the poor,” he said.

Other political parties which have opened online help centres are charging money for their services, but SDPI is doing it for free, he said.

“We are not power hungry. We want to be part of power. That is why we are focusing only on those constituencies where we can win,” said Farangipet, who is contesting from the Mangaluru (Ullal) Assembly constituency.