Five months after winning the Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan’s bastion of the Rampur Lok Sabha seat, the BJP is now trying to woo the Pasmanda Muslim voters ahead of the December 5 assembly bypoll.
According to election observers, there are about 3.88 lakh voters in the Rampur assembly constituency and about 2.27 lakh of them, about 60 per cent, are Muslims.
Among Muslims, about 1.17 lakh voters belong to the Pasmanda (Backward Classes) community.
The ruling BJP is organizing conferences at various places in the state to reach out to Pasmanda Muslims who have received benefits of government schemes like free ration during this period. coronavirus Pandemic and housing for the poor.
Azam Khan, considered the “Muslim face” of the SP, won the Rampur assembly constituency for the 10th time in the state elections held earlier this year. Year in hate speech case.
Minister of State for Minorities Welfare Danish Azad Ansari, the only Muslim minister in the current Uttar Pradesh government, alleged that Khan had done nothing to improve the living standards of community members despite being in power for a long time.
Ansari, who comes from the Pasmanda community, is currently camping in Rampur and visiting Muslim-dominated areas, is appealing to the residents of the city to vote for the BJP.
Speaking to PTI, he alleged that Khan only served his own interests using his community as a vote bank, but now the spell has been broken.
“Pasmanda Muslims have come to know that their welfare is being done only under the BJP government. Pasmanda Muslims are the beneficiary class of government schemes and they are getting maximum benefits of the schemes without any discrimination.
Gradually their trust in BJP is increasing. This time BJP will witness success in Rampur with the help of Pasmanda Muslims.
The BJP had organized the Pasmanda convention here on 12 November. The party has also deployed former Rampur MP Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi to reach out to Muslim voters.
Naqvi has been organizing ‘Khichdi Panchayat’ in Pasmanda Muslim dominated areas, where ‘Khichdi’ is being served to villagers to rally voters.
However, Anjum Ali, national general secretary of Pasmanda Muslim Samaj, does not expect any major change.
He said that there is a section which is angry with Azam and it may take the side of BJP. “It doesn’t look like there will be any major upheaval,” he said.
state president all India Pasmanda Muslim mere Waseem Raini alleged that Khan had adopted a “nawab-like attitude” towards the backward community.
He said, ‘Despite being the most powerful Muslim leader of the SP, Azam Khan did not do any concrete work for the welfare of Pasmanda Muslims due to the Muslim-Yadav equation.’
Raini said that SP never gave important posts to Pasmanda Muslim leaders.
Generally Muslims do not vote for BJP, yet it has given proper rights to Pasmanda Muslims not only in government but also in various commissions and institutions. It is natural that we will support whoever gives us the right.
Political observer Fazal Shah Fazal, who has a keen understanding of Rampur’s politics, said that Khan, like BSP founder Kanshi Ram and Mayawati, had “polarised” the Pasmanda Muslims of Rampur.
“Khan mobilized Dalit Muslims fearing alleged persecution against the Nawab family of Rampur and created an image of a messiah who taught the Nawab family a lesson.
He said, ‘After this exercise, Azam Khan’s hold among the Muslim voters of Rampur reached the assembly 10 times.’
He said that while it is true that the beneficiary class had overwhelmingly voted for the BJP in the last assembly election, the election in Rampur is mostly based on personality.
In such a situation, only time will tell how much BJP will benefit from this. Pasmanda Muslims continued to see their messiah in Khan but there was not much change in their condition. But still, given Khan’s personality, this section stuck with him,” said Fazal.
He said Khan would get sympathy votes in the 2022 assembly polls, but there is doubt whether the same would work in the bypolls, though he has been speaking about the alleged injustice meted out to him under the BJP government.
Khan, facing over 80 cases including cheating and land grab, was released on bail in May after 27 months.
Khan’s close aide Asim Raza, who was defeated in a parliamentary by-election five months ago, has been fielded by the SP from the assembly seat.
Khan’s opponent Akash Saxena is the BJP’s candidate in the bypoll.
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