BSP banks on Dalit-Muslim formula to wrest Azamgarh seat from SP

LUCKNOW : The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is working on DalitMuslim formula to win the Azamgarh Lok Sabha seat where a bypoll is scheduled for June 23. Party chief Mayawati has mobilised Dalit and Muslim BSP leaders and office bearers for campaigning in the constituency that was once a stronghold of the party.

BSP state unit president Bhim Rajbhar, senior leaders Munkad Ali, Salim Ansari, Rajkumar Gautam and Harish Chandra Gautam among others have launched campaign in the constituency.

The party has fielded former MLA Shah Alam aka Guddu Jamali, who enjoys influence over the Muslim community, from the prestigious seat. Assured that Dalit community will vote for the BSP, Jamali has focused his campaign in Muslim dominated areas of the constituency.

“Along with the Muslim community, I also enjoy the support of the Hindu community, he claimed. “The Muslim community knows that BSP is their well-wisher. During the previous BSP governments in the state under Mayawati, several schemes were launched for the welfare of the Muslim community,” Jamali said.

Azamgarh is stronghold of the Samajwadi Party (SP). SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav had won the seat in the 2014 Lok Sabha election while SP chief Akhilesh Yadav won the seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

In the recently held U. P. assembly election, the SP bagged all 10 assembly seats of Azamgarh district. The party is working on backward-Muslim formula to retain the seat. Akhilesh Yadav’s cousin Dharmendra Yadav is the SP candidate for Azamgarh Lok Sabha bypoll.

Samajwadi Party’s Maharashtra unit president Abu Asim Azmi is leading the party’s campaign in Muslim-dominated

areas of the district. During the campaign, Azmi raised the demand for the arrest of expelled BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma. “She has hurt the sentiments of Muslim community. The BJP government should put her behind bars,” he said.

To send a message to the Muslim community, BSP chief

Mayawati too has demanded the arrest of Nupur Sharma. In a tweet on Monday, she said, “A particular community is being targeted by the BJP government with bulldozer, demolition and other malicious aggressive action. The state government is trying to crush the protest and create an atmosphere of fear and terror among the Muslim