THE SAMAJWADI Party had great hope on the pre-poll marathon meetings of party second-in-command Shivpal Singh Yadav with the Shaher Qazis. But it didn’t turn out to be so. Now, with the poll frenzy slowly settling down, the political circle here is debating the reasons for the little impact these meets had on Muslim voters.
One of the prime reasons for Shivpal’s mission failing is his inability to talk the ‘real issue’ with Shaher Qazis Qari Abdus Sami and Maulana Manzoor Ahmed Mazahari. His meetings with the two Qazis of Barelvi and Deobandi persuasions were desperate attempts to check the drift of Muslims away from the SP.
Details emerging from those privy to the summits suggest that Shivpal did not ask the clergy to support or issue ‘fatwas’ (edicts) favouring mayoral nominee Neeraj Chaturvedi.
But he did discuss certain other things and sought blessings for himself.
The meetings were crucial as Chaturvedi’s candidature didn’t go down well with the community and protests were held to demand a change. Efforts of the local leadership to make Muslims accept the two-time BJP MLA virtually failed.
Well-informed sources said Shivpal had been closeted with the clerics for nearly three hours. He discussed everything from governance to future plans. What didn’t come up for discussion surprisingly was the mayoral election and ensuring the clergy’s support for Chaturvedi.
{{/usCountry}}Well-informed sources said Shivpal had been closeted with the clerics for nearly three hours. He discussed everything from governance to future plans. What didn’t come up for discussion surprisingly was the mayoral election and ensuring the clergy’s support for Chaturvedi.
{{/usCountry}}This happens at a time when Surendra Mohan Agarwal-controlled local leadership has begun to tighten their noose around former city president and Shivpal loyalist Mehtab Alam for his role that has been ‘detrimental’ to the party’s prospects in the mayoral election.
Alam on Thursday night was served a notice asking him to explain why he invited Congress candidate Badri Narayan Tewari and not Chaturvedi at his Iftar party.
Moreover, he faces the charge of backing SP rebels at the cost of the official nominees.
The cold response of the Muslims towards the SP has also made city president Mohd Nasiruddin and general secretary Jitendra Bahadur Singh to train guns on leaders known to be Shivpal loyalists.
However, SP insiders say the buzz within the party is that Mehtab could do what he did with blessings of his mentors. And the outcome of Shivpal’s meeting certainly gives credence to this belief.