Lucknow/Patna: Muslims of Uttar Pradesh are feeling cheated by Samjwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party when they failed to include even a single person from the community in their list of candidates for Rajya Sabha biennial polls.
It should be noted that Muslims constitute 18 per cent votes in Uttar Pradesh and the played a major role in bringing Samajwadi Party to power.
Ironically both the parties claim to be enjoying support of Muslim community which help them to come to power in UP during last many polls.
It was only when Muslims were unhappy with Mulayam Singh Yadav for having joined hands with Kalyan Singh SP lost the elections. And BSP also came to power in 2007 when Muslims supported BSP supremo Mayawati.
It may be mentioned here that the list of seven candidates of SP has names of controversial persons like Amar Singh, Beni Prasad Verma and Sanjay Seth but single Muslim could not be accommodated in the list.
Similarly Muslims are also not happy with BSP which could not include even a single Muslim in list for Rajya Sabha and UP Legislative Council. BSP list includes Brahmin and dalit for Rajya Sabha and has accommodated backward in the list for UP legislative Council.
Now the muslim community is looking toward Congress where sitting MP in Rajya Sabha Capt. Satish Sharma will retire in July. Although former Union Minister Kapil Sibal and UPCC president Nirmal Khattri
Meanwhile former MLA from Saharanpur, Imran Masood who has a great hold over the community in western UP, is also meeting Rahul Gandhi to stake his claim. Now Congress high command is under pressure to accommodate a Muslim for Rajya Sabha or UP legislative Council.
Now it is to be seen as to how major political parties accommodate members from Muslim community or face wrath during forthcoming UP Assembly polls in 2017.
Muslims of Bihar who played a major role in the victory of Grand Alliance are also furious with RJD and JD (U) when they failed to include even a single person from Muslim community in their list of candidates for Rajya Sabha biennial polls.
It would be worth mentioning that it was Muslim community which help them to come to power in last year Assembly polls.
But neither Lalu Prasad nor Nitish Kumar thought it a point to send a single Muslim candidate to the Upper House from their parties quota.
While noted lawyer and former BJP MP Ram Jeth Malani and RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s daughter Misa Bharti are the nominees of RJD Rajya Sabha’s biennial elections, Sharad Yadav is the party candidate of JD (U) Along with Yadav, Ramchandra Prasad Singh is contesting from JD(U).
Many prominent community leaders like Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid Syed Ahmad Bukhari and Dr.Aijaz Ali have expressed anger over ignoring Muslims by the political parties who claim to be the ‘champions of Muslim interest’.
Courtesy: Muslim Mirror