With the Congress-led UPA at the Centre doling out the quota carrot for the minorities, the party appears to have taken a headstart among contenders for the around 18 per cent Muslim vote in Uttar Pradesh, forcing the Samajwadi Party and the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party to rework their electoral strategy.
With over 125 Assembly constituencies in the state having a significant Muslim voteshare, Cong-ress leaders are hoping to strike big, propelling the party to the top league. Dismissing criticism that the decision was with an eye on the Uttar Pradesh polls, a senior Congress leader noted it was a commitment to the people during the 2009 general elections.
“We have just translated our commitment into action. It’s a mere coincidence that two commitments (another being the Food Bill) came just before the Uttar Pradesh elections were declared,” he added.
The Congress is gearing up to match the SP’s efforts to field a large number of Muslim candidates in Uttar Pradesh. More than 30 per cent of the candidates it has declared so far are Muslims.
The Congress — which has former SP leaders Rashid Masood, Salim Sherwani and former BSP leader Rashid Alvi in its ranks, as well as the RLD’s Shahid Siddiqui on the same side — is reaching out to Muslims with the message that their progress depends only on this party.
Mulayam Singh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party is battling hard to keep itself in the reckoning with Muslim voters.
“It was the SP that protected Muslims’ interests by ensuring better jobs in police recruitment,” a senior party leader said. The ruling Bahujan Samaj Party is banking on Ms Mayawati’s “firm” administration.
“We will tell Muslims their security was not compromised even after the Allahabad high court verdict on Ayodhya,” a senior BSP leader said.