In spot, Mulayam woos Muslims

Mulayam’s SOS to the Muslim convention was a strategic move to win the hearts of those following the Barelvi school of thought as a majority of the followers of the other school of thought among the Sunnis, the Deobandis, are already disappointed with Mulayam for not joining hands with the Congress. ‘‘We always wanted to join hands with the Congress to ensure that the secular votes are not split and we are still of the view that anti-communal votes should not be divided. But the Congress did not show any inclination, instead, it used all its energy to garner the support of those (read BSP) who campaigned in favour of Narendra Modi in Gujarat,’’ said Mulayam explaining why the SP and Congress could not join hands.

While Mulayam is going all out to woo the followers of the Barelvi school of thought, the Congress on its part is wooing the Deobandis. To this end, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi will personally meet Maulana Rabe Hasan Nadvi, chairman of All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and the vice-chancellor of the Nadwatul Darul Uloom, a centre of learning for Islamic studies in Lucknow, during her visit to Rae Bareli on April 6.

Also, the members of some Muslim organisations like the All India Milli Council, Jamait-e-Islami and a few others have already made their anti-Mulayam mood clear this time and have assured the Congress to work for the party in Muslim pockets of the state. These organisations are also planning to issue a charge-sheet against the ‘‘anti-Muslim’’ stand of the Mulayam government and thus appeal to the Muslim fraternity to vote in favour of the Congress. A prominent Shia cleric and the AIMPLB vice-chairman Maulana Kalbe Sadiq also met Sonia in New Delhi on Saturday and assured her that he would work in favour of the party for the coming elections.

Even as Mulayam woos the Muslim community’s support, he is also working to counter the potential loss of the minority community drifting away from the SP by propping up the Jat-Rajput-Yadav combination with the help of Ajit Singh in Western UP and highlighting his party’s efforts to ensure the release of Raghuraj Pratap Singh, alias Raja Bhaiyya, who was detained under POTA by former UP CM Mayawati. The SP has also given a Lok Sabha ticket to Raja Bhaiyya’s cousin Akshay Pratap Singh (who was also detained under POTA but is now out of jail) from Pratapgarh to send out the party’s pro-Thakur message.