Muslim not voting en-block in Uttar Pradesh polls

Lucknow, Apr 20: The Muslim community, which constitutes asubstantial 17 per cent of the electorate in Uttar Pradesh, appears tobe a confused lot this time around as the assembly election processgains momentum, unlike the previous polls when it was seen to be votingen bloc in favour of one particular party.

With three phases completed in the staggered seven phase voting, it is anybody's guess which way the Muslims have voted.

As the statistics suggest, the Muslims have influence on about 120of the total of 403 assembly seats in the state. These include aboutsixty seats in the western parts of Uttar Pradesh.

Bahraich, Ghazipur, Varanasi, Bareilly, Rampur, Moradabad,Bijnore, Amroha, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat, Saharanpur, Kanpur andAligarh are the districts where Muslims constitute 30-50 per cent ofthe total population.

Wooing of Muslims by most political parties continued on a highpitch but 'pregnant silence' on their part has left all guessing, muchto the discomfort of the ruling Samajwadi Party which has alwaysenjoyed their support and the Congress, which attempting to win backthe community's support after losing their loyality following thedemolition of the Babri Masjid in December, 1992.

The All India Milli Council, the political arm of All India MuslimPersonal Law Board (AIMPLB), has admitted that this time, the electoralsituation is different. According to the Council's president MaulanaGulzar Qazmi, the organisation apprehends there might be a steep fallin the number of elected Muslim candidates in the ongoing assemblypolls.

He said the council did not release the list of candidates forMuslims to vote for against the BJP candidates in order to avoidpolarisation of Hindu votes, but it did issue an appeal to forge unityof secular parties against communal forces.

The Maulana concedes that the situation is complex in this election.

UNI

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