The Social Democratic Party of India’s (SDPI) on Monday, April 1 announced that they will support the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Kerala. SDPI Kerala state president Ashraf Moulavi stated that they decided to support the Congress as they are leading the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the national level.

“We have two secular fronts in Kerala. We decided to vote for the Congress-led UDF because, at the national level, they are leading the INDIA bloc. The BJP government has been taking anti-constitutional positions and people who believe in democracy have started to protest against this. In this situation, our policy is to support those who are secular,” he added.

Opposition leader VD Satheesan said that the UDF did not have discussion with SDPI leaders or has struck any deal with the party for the Lok Sabha elections. “There is a general sentiment in the country against the BJP government and they have taken this decision as part of it. They said they will stand with secular fronts,” he added.

Reacting to VD Satheesan’s comment, Ashraf Moulavi told TNM that lending support to the UDF was a political decision taken by the state unit of SDPI. “We took the decision considering the situation of the country, and after internal discussions,” he said. 

SDPI has reportedly decided not to field candidates in Kerala for this Lok Sabha elections, but will contest in 18 seats in other states such as Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.