A sizeable section of Muslim votes is preparing to split in favour of BJP which is bound to be an added advantage for the party…reports Asian Lite News
History shows that a division in Muslium votes in Uttar Pradesh has invariably worked to the advantage of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls are no different.
The only difference this time is that a sizeable section of Muslim votes is preparing to split in favour of BJP which is bound to be an added advantage for the party.
Muslims account for 19 per cent of Uttar Pradesh’s population and their voting behaviour is likely to define the outcome on around 24 Lok Sabha seats, having a 20-50 per cent Muslim population.
The Samajwadi Party-Congress seat-sharing deal for the Lok Sabha elections may have raised expectations in the alliance that it will consolidate the Muslim vote and fortify the INDIA bloc’s position in at least 24 Muslim-dominated constituencies out of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh.
However, as elections draw near, the BSP and AIMIM are set to force a split in Muslim votes.
A popular saying in Uttar Pradesh goes thus: ‘Pehla bhai (read Muslim), Phir Sapai (SP) aur uske baad Congress-I.’
This explains the Muslim voting pattern in the state.
The BSP, in a shrewd move, has fielded five Muslim candidates out of seven unofficially announced so far.
They include Aqil Ahmed Patta from Kannauj, a seat considered a stronghold of SP. Patta had joined BSP a few months ago, after crossing over from SP.
The other Muslim candidates are Irfan Saifi from Moradabad, Anish Ahmed Khan aka Phool Babu from Pilibhit, Majid Ali from Saharanpur and Mujahid Hussain from Amroha. The party had won Amroha and Saharanpur parliamentary seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
“There are many more Muslim candidates on the way but we need to wait for the list,” said a party insider.
The AIMIM is also preparing to field candidates in about two dozen seats having a sizeable Muslim population.
It is amply clear that more than winning the seats themselves, the AIMIM and BSP are keen to defeat the INDIA constituents (SP and Congress).
The leaders of both, BSP and AIMIM, are aware that a division in Muslim votes will give the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) an advantage.
However, there is also a perceptible change in the Muslim mood in Uttar Pradesh and the community is no longer as hostile towards the BJP as it used to be.
The ban on triple talaq and the benefits of welfare schemes initiated by the Modi and Yogi governments that have reached Muslim women, have led to a change in perception.
Afsha Zaidi, a home maker said, “In the past 10 years, the BJP has not harmed us in any way. In fact, we have benefitted under the Modi regime. I do not see anything wrong in voting for BJP — In fact, I will vote for Modi this time.”
BJP’s ‘Shukriya Modi Bhai Jaan’ that reached out to Muslim women, was also highly successful and elicited a good response.
If Muslims vote for large numbers in the UP Lok Sabha polls – as is expected — it could finally break the myth of Muslim voting pattern in the state
The Muslim-dominated Lok Sabha seats include Saharanpur (29.6 per cent), Muzaffarnagar (27 per cent), Bijnor (28 per cent), Nagina (28 per cent), Moradabad (28 per cent), Rampur (42 per cent), Sambhal (22 per cent), Amroha (32 per cent), Meerut (23 per cent), Sitapur (24 per cent), Kairana (23 per cent ), Bareilly (23 per cent), Pilibhit (19 per cent), Shahjahanpur (21 per cent), Bahraich (23 per cent), Shravasti (28 per cent), Dumariaganj (26 per cent) and Lucknow (23 per cent).
The list also includes Kanpur (19 per cent), Bulandshahr (19 per cent), Baghpat (18.8 per cent), Ghaziabad (16 per cent), Aligarh (19 per cent) and Azamgarh (16 per cent).
Election Has to be Fought at Booth Level
At a Holi Utsav programme in the national capital on Sunday, Union Minister Smriti Irani said that workers have to visit every booth and fight at the booth level to achieve the target of winning 400 seats in the parliamentary polls.
Addressing party workers on this occasion, Smriti Irani said, “Wherever there is PM Modi, a win is confirmed. To work for the organization and society is the identity of every BJP worker. It is the responsibility of every worker to visit the booth and to associate every vote with the ‘Modi ki Guarantee’ to achieve the target of 400 seats in the parliamentary polls. The election has to be fought at the booth level. The percentage of votes in favour of BJP should increase in every booth compared to the previous Lok Sabha polls.”
She further said that the Supreme Court has observed that those who came to power in AAP used liquor companies to make policies.
“Policies were made by liquor companies, which had never happened in the past. The Supreme Court has itself said that former deputy CM Manish Sisodia is involved in Rs 338 crores liquor policy scam. When Arvind Kejriwal was presented in court, it is on record that he was involved in funding the elections for an amount of Rs 45 crore. Kejriwal had demanded for Rs 100 crores to use it in elections. BJP Karyakartas have to ensure that AAP workers don’t try to use unfair means in booths,” she added.
Senior BJP leader and former Union Minister, Dr Harsh Vardhan was also present on the occasion.
AAP supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) in connection with the now-scrapped excise policy case.
The case pertains to alleged corruption and money laundering in formulating and executing the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22, which was later scrapped. AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh are in judicial custody in the case.
Kejriwal’s name has been mentioned multiple times in the chargesheets filed by the ED. The agency has alleged that the accused were in touch with Kejriwal for formulating the excise policy that resulted in undue benefits to them in return for which they paid kickbacks to the party. (ANI)