The Samajwadi Party (SP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) are vying for Muslims votes in Kundarki assembly constituency, an SP stronghold, in Moradabad district.
Muslims, who constitute 2.23 lakh (62%) of the 3.83 lakh voters in the constituency, have been deciding the fate of candidates in successive assembly elections in the seat. Among the 12 candidates in the fray for the November 20 bypoll, only the BJP candidate is a Hindu.
The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) led by Asaduddin Owaisi and Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) led by Chandra Shekhar Azad have also joined the bypoll race, intensifying the fight for Muslim votes. The political parties are playing the Turk and non-Turk card to make a dent in the Muslim vote bank.
Among the Muslims, Turks constitute 88,000 voters (40%) and have been dominating politics in the constituency. The SP, BSP, AIMIM and ASP have fielded candidates belonging to the Turk community.
The seat was vacated after the election of the sitting SP MLA Ziaur Rahman Barq to the Lok Sabha from Sambhal in June this year.
The Samajwadi Party has fielded former MLA Mohammad Rizwan , who won the seat in the 2002, 2012 and 2017 assembly elections. The BJP has given the ticket to Ramveer Singh. The BSP has fielded Rafatullah and the AIMIM has given the ticket to Mohammad Warish. The ASP has fielded Chand Babu.
The BJP, which won the seat in the 1993 assembly elections, has mobilised its resources to break the SP stranglehold in the constituency. While the BJP maybe playing up the slogan ‘batenge toh katenge’ elsewhere, it’s relying on tge ‘sabka saath- sabka vikas’ slogan in Kundarki.
{{/usCountry}}The BJP, which won the seat in the 1993 assembly elections, has mobilised its resources to break the SP stranglehold in the constituency. While the BJP maybe playing up the slogan ‘batenge toh katenge’ elsewhere, it’s relying on tge ‘sabka saath- sabka vikas’ slogan in Kundarki.
{{/usCountry}}The BJP is aiming to win over Muslim voters and UP BJP Minority Front president Kunwar Basit Ali had organized a meeting of the community in support of the BJP candidate.
A video of BJP candidate Ramveer Singh sporting a skull cap and a Saudi-style scarf around his neck went viral on the social media.
This prompted the opposition parties to attack the BJP, saying it has a double face and was playing the polarisation card in eight other seats but trying to woo Muslims in Kundarki.
Singh hit back, stating that Muslims have progressed under the BJP government and the state government has launched several schemes for their welfare. The BJP will get the votes of Muslims, along with Dalits, OBCs and upper castes, in the bypolls, he said. Singh is also playing the Turk Vs Sheikh card to get Muslim votes.
Addressing public meetings in Muslim dominated areas, he said parties are ignoring Sheikhs and promoting Turks in politics. A senior Muslim leader Shaulat Ali too addressed the meeting in support of Singh.
The fact that 2018-batch IPS officer Ilma Afroz of the Himachal Pradesh cadre has been sent on leave after a tussle with a Congress leader has turned into an election issue. A native of Kundarki, Afroz has returned home with her mother from Himachal Pradesh. The BJP attacked the Congress on the action against Afroz.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath had addressed two public meetings in the constituency and launched a slew of development projects as well as a mega employment and loan fair.
Uttar Pradesh has become a key driver of national development and Moradabad is emerging as a crucial growth engine within the state, he had said.
Moradabad is the home district of UP BJP president Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary, whose prestige is at stake. He has been campaigning in Kundarki after the Election Commission of India issued the notification for the bypolls.
Campaigning on Tuesday, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav made it clear that SP will contest the bypoll on the PDA formula.
After the public meeting, Yadav visited the residence of former SP MP and jailed leader Mohammad Azam Khan in Rampur. He met Khan’s wife and former MP Tanzin Fatima and other family members in what was seen as a bid to over Muslim voters over whom Khan has considerable influence.
The BSP won the seat twice in the 1996 and 2007 assembly elections but party chief Mayawati and national coordinator Akash Anand have not campaigned for the party candidate yet. The party zonal coordinators are managing the election campaign. Along with Dalits, BSP is eyeing the support of Muslims and OBCs. ASP chief Chandra Shekhar Azad claimed his party candidate Chand Babu will win the seat with support of Dalit and Muslim voters. As for AIMIM, its chief Asaduddin Owaisi is likely to address a public meeting in the constituency on November 18.