Amid disquiet among RLD Muslim faces, how the party is looking to ride Waqf storm

While Rizvi, 34, maintains that he is a general secretary in the RLD’s Uttar Pradesh unit, the party claims that he has not held any posts.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Rizvi, who hails from Meerut district, said he joined the RLD in 2023 after leaving the Samajwadi Party (SP) and that he was appointed the RLD’s state general secretary in 2024.

“I have resigned because the RLD has enjoyed support of Muslims, and it was the community that helped the party send eight MLAs to the UP Assembly in 2022. Now, when the time to support the community has come, they have voted in favour of a Bill that is discriminatory in nature,” said Rizvi.

UP RLD president Ramashish Rai, however, told The Indian Express that Rizvi did not hold a post in the party’s state unit. “This person was not in the state unit, and as far as the Waqf Bill is concerned, it is a step towards the welfare of poor Muslims,” Rai said.

RLD national general secretary Anupam Mishra claimed Rizvi “has no connection with the RLD”. “He is spreading false information about his post and association with the party,” said Mishra.

Over the last few elections, including the 2022 UP Assembly elections, the RLD has enjoyed the backing of the Jat and Muslim groups, which are considered its core vote bank. The party, which is mainly based

in West UP, had a significant support base among Muslims in the region till it left the Opposition INDIA bloc to join the BJP-led NDA in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. West UP has a sizable Muslim population, with several Assembly and Lok Sabha seats having a large number of Muslim voters.

In the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP gave the RLD two west UP seats to contest – Baghpat and Bijnor – both of which it won. Subsequently, Jayant Chaudhary, a Rajya Sabha member, was inducted into the Narendra Modi-led government as a Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and a MoS for Education.

But despite assurances from the RLD leadership that the Waqf Bill would benefit Muslims, several party leaders from the minority community told The Indian Express that “there is unease in a section of the party, with more leaders likely to resign in the coming days”.

“The Waqf Bill is a big moment for Muslims, and if the RLD has extended support to it, then it is bound to lose support among the community. And we also have to answer to the people. I will be resigning in the coming days. While the BJP has been going after Muslims with its top leaders targeting the community in election speeches, it is hard to believe that it has passed the Waqf Bill for the welfare of the community,” said a Muslim RLD leader from Muzaffaranagar.

However, RLD national general secretary Mishra denied that the Muslim community is upset with the RLD. “It is just a matter of time before Muslims understand that the Bill will benefit them, and especially the poor Muslims. The party’s decision to support the Bill will have no impact on the relationship between Muslims and the RLD,” he said.

Ashraf Ali Khan, an RLD MLA from the Thana Bhawan constituency in the Shamli district, denied there was any resentment in the party. “There are some misconceptions, but they will soon go away when people realise the Muslim community will benefit from this Bill,” Khan said.

Jayant Chaudhary recently expressed concern over a Meerut police warning against namaz on streets, which stated that violators would face legal action that could lead to registration of criminal cases, cancellation of passports and licences. In a post on X, Chaudhary had said, “Policing towards Orwellian 1984!”

While the RLD faces the prospect of upsetting Muslims, it is also aware that since it is part of the NDA, it could balance out the possible loss of Muslim support by getting the BJP votes in West UP. “Because we are with the NDA, we are likely to get votes from communities that support the BJP. Upper castes who vote for BJP will vote for our candidates,” said a Jat RLD leader from Meerut.