Muslim vote split spells SP trouble?

Muslim votes in Uttar Pradesh are all set to split like never before in the Assembly elections, scheduled to be held in early 2017. Multiple groups have emerged from within the Muslim community and are determined to contest Assembly elections.

The emergence of these groups, along with the debut of All- India Majlis- eIttehadul Muslimeen ( AIMIM) led by the Owaisi brothers, could cause a major upset to the ruling Samajwadi Party that banks heavily on Muslim support.

To begin with, the Shia community in Uttar Pradesh is decidedly against the Samajwadi Party and well- known Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawwad has announced a political outfit, Majlis- eUlemae- Hind, and said that he planned to form a new political alliance to fight the SP and get “fair representation for the Shia community” in governance and decision making.

The Shia community has been up in arms against the Samajwadis after senior UP minister Azam Khan ensured the dismissal of over three dozen “muttawallis ( caretaker)” of Shia waqf properties in January this year and Maulana Kalbe Jawwad was one of them.

“We are in a position to win 50 to 60 Assembly seats on our own. Shias have a sizeable population in over 50 Assembly segments, including Lucknow West, Lucknow East, Lucknow North, Bakshi Ka Talab, Barabanki, Sultanpur, Allahabad North, Allahabad South and Phulpur. This number can go up if the Sunni and Hindu brothers stand by us,” Maulana Kalbe Jawwad said.

Another Shia cleric, Maulana Mohseen Taqvi, said, “The state government is victimising the Shia community. We want our representation in the government, inclusion of the property of Lucknow’s Hussainabad Trust in waqf and 20 per cent reservation for Shia community in every scheme of the state government for the minority community. Now we will take our rights by fighting our battle politically.”

The AIMIM, led by Owaisi brothers, has also launched a membership drive and is preparing to contest 100 Assembly seats in the 2017 elections. The Akhilesh government is apparently unnerved by the advent of AIMIM in UP and this is evident from the fact that the state government has denied permission six times to the Owaisi brothers to hold rallies in the state.