Sambhal emerges as MIM’s best chance
Locals say their liking for debutant Zia is increasing.
Locals say their liking for debutant Zia is increasing in the whole city. “Apart from our area, Zia’s support is increasing in localities like Sarai Tarin, Chaudhary Sarai, Kot, Teemar Das Sarai etc. He may even gain in rural areas. His support increased multifold after Asaduddin Owaisi’s rally in the town on 7 February,” said Nayab Hussain, a resident of Chowk in Deepa Sarai.
According to Saad Usmani, a local senior journalist, Zia has around 50,000-55,000 votes right now and needs to gain 10,000 more to emerge as the winner. “Any candidate going beyond 60,000 mark will finish first. Only Iqbal seems there right now. Interestingly, both these candidates solely depend on Muslim votes and if they are able to equally garner mi- Kasai (Qureshis), Badai etc. “And they all seem going with Zia as it was evident during Asaduddin’s huge rally,” said Mohit, a government teacher.
Supporters of Iqbal Mehmood alleged that Barq’s family is personally marring the election of the minister of the area. “He has been a minister and one of the most renowned and stable politicians from Sambhal. He deserves another chance,” said a crowd in Mian Sarai, few yards away from the residence of Mehmood in the Qila, a Mughal period fort.
In Sambhal, according to an estimate, there are around 35,000-50,000 Scheduled Caste voters. Majority of them are Jatavs. They are likely to go with BSP and if BSP’s Rafatullah manages 20,000 Muslim votes, he may have his chances, observes Saad Usmani. “Today (Friday) Naseemuddin Siddiqi rallied in Sambhal and judging by the crowd there, I suspect that if Rafatullah works hard, he may join the race,” he said.
But judging by most of the locals interviewed by this correspondent and by hearing Rafatullah in one of his roadshows, it appeared that he had least effective communicative skills to win over voters.
Among all candidates, the most sophisticated and polite seems Dr Arvind Gupta, a well known practitioner in the city who is also known for his social welfare approach. “He is liked by Muslims, too. But I am not sure whether they will vote for him in hordes. Some thousand Muslim votes will certainly go to him. He deserves,” said Badar Jamal Sahyl, the manager at a local tuition centre.
Gupta told this correspondent that he doesn’t want to win as BJP’s Hindu candidate but as a good and responsible resident of his city. “I want that people must accept me positively. I know I am liked by Muslims and I have seen that over the years. My clientele is largely Muslims. Some of them will also vote for me but I don’t know whether that would be sufficient in this Muslim-dominated seat,” said Gupta.
He admitted that during his tour to all 90 villages in the constituency, he found that people were split around their identities. “It is obvious that if they are Hindus and are Saini or Valmikis, they will vote for BJP. If they are Jatavs, they will go with BSP and similar is the case with Muslims,” said Gupta.