Cong turns to cleric to woo Muslim voters

And Ansar Shah is only too willing to help. ‘‘I was hardly 10 when I got involved with the Congress in 1939. I never held any party post but actively worked in the election campaigns of Indiraji and Rajivji in Amethi later. Now that I have been entrusted responsibility of reviving the party in Uttar Pradesh, I will work to achieve that,’’ the Maulana told The Indian Express over the telephone.

Ansar Shah blames former prime minister Narasimha Rao for the party’s undoing in the Hindi heartland. ‘‘Rao was from a southern state and never cared to nurse party prospects in the Hindi belt.’’

He’s confident Muslims will return to the Congress fold: ‘‘The Muslims blamed the Congress for the demolition of Babri Masjid because our party was in power then at the Centre. Rao gave no indication that the Centre wasn’t involved in the demolition conspiracy. But things have changed.’’ Ansar Shah says his family ties with Deoband are almost 100 years old. At the Darul-Uloom, he maintains, students are taught all that promotes brotherhood. ‘‘I don’t know why people accuse Deoband of sowing the seeds of communalism. We have Hindi as a subject and take special care to incorporate the latest. We Deobandis participated in the freedom struggle.’’