Kerala Assembly polls 2026: no bid to get SDPI support, says M.A. Baby

Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] general secretary M.A. Baby has said that his party has never tried to get the support of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the political arm of the now proscribed Popular Front of India (PFI).

He was addressing a press conference at the Calicut Press Club on Monday (March 30) evening.

Mr. Baby pointed out that the CPI(M) was critical of the political activities of the SDPI. He alleged that through its current style of functioning, the SDPI was giving a chance to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to justify its work. That party should change its style of political work. However, asked about the Welfare Party of India, a political party supported by the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Mr. Baby said that it has only a “limited influence”. Mr. Baby also said that there was no need to equalise minority communalism and majority communalism.

The CPI(M) leader’s comments came in the wake of the United Democratic Front’s (UDF) allegation that the SDPI had a secret deal with the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in the upcoming Assembly elections. Asked about the claim that the LDF had supported SDPI-leaning candidates in Mankada and Vengara Assembly constituencies in Malappuram district, Mr. Baby said that the SDPI had pulled out its candidate in Manjeshwaram in Kasaragod district to help the UDF.

Meanwhile, Mr. Baby came down on Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, for his critical remarks on Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. He said that Mr. Gandhi seemed not to have done his homework while issuing statements. Mr. Baby also said that the Congress and the BJP were “birds of the same feather” when it came to implementing neo-liberal economic policies.