Lucknow: BSP announced its third list of candidates for 100 more Assembly seats on Saturday, with 24 Muslim aspirants getting tickets. The party has declared nominees for 300 of the 403 assembly seats so far.
While BSP’s first list of 100 candidates contained names of 36 Muslim candidates, the second and third list have 22 and 24 aspirants respectively from that community. Muslims account for nearly 20% of the state’s electorate and perhaps keeping this in mind, members of that community have been given the weightage.
The party has already shortlisted names of candidates for all the 403 seats, BSP supremo Mayawati had told a recent press conference. Giving caste-wise details of the shortlisted candidates, she had said 87 tickets will be given to Dalits, 97 to Muslims and 106 to OBCs. Of the 113 tickets earmarked for upper castes, Brahmins will get 66, Kshatriyas 36, and others 11, she had said.
The BSP chief has said that she had finalised the names of candidates long ago and there will be no change in it.
Alleging that minorities were facing bias under Modi government, Mayawati had cautioned Muslims that voting for Samajwadi Party or Congress will only help BJP and sought their support “to stop” the saffron party. Muslims should not waste their vote as there is infighting in Samajwadi Party, and Congress lacks a voter base in Uttar Pradesh, Mayawati has said.
Divided Muslim votes translate to gains for BJP, while a consolidation will change the poll arithmetic as minorities play a crucial role in at least 125 of 403 constituencies.
PTI