Man in the middle

The Muslim voter in Uttar Pradesh has plenty to choose from. That is perhaps adding to his confusion and Mulayam Singh8217;s nervousness.

The Muslim voter in Uttar Pradesh has a problem of plenty. He is the most sought after figure in the state but he hasn8217;t quite decided whose affections he should return.

Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav can no longer afford to be complacent. At least two important Muslim groups have emerged during the last year, challenging Mulayam8217;s secular credentials and accusing him of hobnobbing with the Sangh Parivar and of using Muslims as mere vote banks.

Formed in the wake of a similar but successful experiment in Assam, the rise of Muslim forces against Mulayam in UP appeared then as a turning point in the politics of the Hindi heartland. Muslims in UP grouped largely under two fronts, the United Democratic Front UDF and People8217;s Democratic Front PDF last year, each backed by powerful Muslim names and organisations. If the UDF was backed by the Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid Maulana Syed Ahmed Bukhari, the PDF was headed by noted Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawad. They were to come together as one front but after bickering for months, they split and the idea of forming an 8220;alternative to the Samajwadi Party8221; was abandoned. But efforts in this direction are still on.

All the fronts in the state raise the same issues: Implementation of the Sachar Committee recommendations, reservation for backward Muslims, right to property to Muslim women and participation of the minority community in governance.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board is angry with Mulayam for bullet-proofing the disputed site in Ayodhya, which it points out, is a violation of Supreme Court8217;s status quo order. But, for each of these groups, every issue can wait if they see that the BJP could gain from it. So, the Muslims in the state are back to their usual refrain: prevent the BJP from rising to power as was evident from their response to the recently held local bodies elections where the BJP performed an all-time best, bagging eight out of 12 municipal corporations. Even in cities such as Kanpur, Meerut, Agra and Varanasi, where there is a considerable number of Muslim voters, the BJP won due to division in votes.

And now, after having two rounds of poll talk with Mulayam, Bukhari who rose against the 8220;pseudo-secularism8221; of SP has this to say: 8216;8216;The influence of Mulayam on Muslims cannot be ignored during the elections.8221;

Besides Bukhari, Mulayam is also desperately wooing the All India Muslim Personal Law Board. The AIMPLB, the prime body for socio-religious affairs representing the four crore Muslims of UP, is upset with Mulayam over certain issues.

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The spokesperson of AIMPLB Jafaryab Jilani has been going to town with his grievances. Mulayam had a round of talks with chairman of AIMPLB Maulana Rabe Hasan Nadwi on December 22 last, and assured him that he would look address their complaints.

Then there is former chairman of PDF, Maulana Kalbe Jawad. After having reportedly patched up with Mulayam, he is now saying formation of several Muslim fronts would only divide the Muslim vote. But says executive member of AIMPLB Maulana Khalid Rashid Firangimaheli, 8216;8216;Such fronts are made before every poll. Without any homework or base, such fronts only aim at dividing Muslim votes or bargain with big political parties. 8220;What is wrong with Mulayam?8217;8217; he asks.

There is another contender for Muslim votes in UP: Mayawati8217;s Bahujan Samaj Party. Three of the party8217;s eight winners in the just-concluded Uttarakhand Assembly polls are Muslims. The BSP has asked its Muslim legislators from Uttarakhand to campaign in UP and has decided to give tickets to 63 Muslim candidates.

There is also a fresh entrant, Jamat-e-Islami-Hind JeIH, which along with the Jan Morcha Alliance is re-grouping the 8220;non-Samajwadi Party secular forces8221;.

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The Jamat-e-Islami Hind has taken up the task of uniting Muslim organisations and voters under one umbrella. Its UP president Maulana Muztaba Farooqi earlier in the week gathered over a dozen parties and got them to agree on one fact: that the Muslims should recognise their force and contest in these assembly elections.

Saleem Peerzada whose Parcham Party is a part of this move, says that to dislodge Mulayam, an alternative should be put before Muslims. 8220;VP Singh is a name who can lead this politics and if the Jan Morcha forges an alliance with Congress and RLD, many Muslim organisations will be a part of it,8217;8217; he says.

Incidentally, VP Singh and Raj Babbar8217;s rallies for the past few months in the Muslim-dominated pockets have been quite successful.