BJP chief Rajnath Singh woos Muslims in Lucknow

Lucknow, April 14: Attempting to reach out to

, BJP President

today met some clerics while campaigning here.

"Had meetings with renowned clerics like Maulana Kalbe Sadiq, Maulana Kahild Rasheed and Maulana Kalbe Jawad in Lko," Singh tweeted along with the picture of his meeting with them.

Rajnath Singh has been seeking support of Muslims, who are significant in UP

Rajnath Singh has been seeking the support of the Muslim community which comprises a major chunk of voters in Uttar Pradesh.

Later talking to reporters, Rajnath said "we have to take people from all streams of the society belonging to different religions." "As party President and as a candidate (from Lucknow), I decided to pay respect to all religious leaders", he added.

The Muslim clerics said they spoke to the BJP president on issues concerning the Muslims and that the latter promised them to address those.

A major controversy broke out recently after Congress chief Sonia Gandhi met Shahi Imam Syed Bukhari and discussed ways of not letting the Muslim vote-bank split in the ongoing Lok Sabha election.

Later, Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Sadiq took a contradictory stand and said the Congress always used the Muslims as its servants and never cared for their uplift.

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PTI