Hyderabad: Mounting an attack on Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav a day after the party reached a LS seat-sharing deal with INDIA bloc, AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP said on Thursday asked how many more elections will Akhilesh lose?
The AIMIM chief recalled Yadav’s electoral defeats, pointing out losses in the 2014, 2017, 2019, and the 2022 elections. Despite the record number of Muslim votes garnered by the Samajwadi Party in the 2022 polls, the Hyderabad MP said, SP failed to halt the BJP’s momentum.
“Akhilesh lost 2014 LS polls, 2017 UP Assembly polls, 2019 LS polls, and again in 2022 Assembly polls. In the history of the Samajwadi Party, the never got as many Muslim votes as much they did in 2022 polls. Despite getting Muslim votes, Akhilesh still could not stop BJP. How many more elections will Akhilesh Yadav lose,” the Hyderabad MP said.
Owaisi’s statement comes a day after an electoral pact between the Samajwadi Party and the Congress in Uttar Pradesh for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Under the agreement, the Congress is set to contest 17 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
Muslim vote in Uttar Pradesh
There is a significance number of Muslim votes in Uttar Pradesh, with the community comprising 19% of the state’s population. Approximately 24 Lok Sabha seats with substantial Muslim populations, ranging from 20% to 50%, are likely to be influenced by their SP-Congress deal. Expectations are high for the INDIA alliance to consolidate Muslim support and secure these critical seats.
Leaders from both the Samajwadi Party and Congress recognise the importance of avoiding a split in Muslim votes, which could potentially benefit the BJP.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP clinched victory in several Muslim-dominated constituencies, including Rampur, Sambhal, Amroha, Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur, Moradabad, Bijnor, and Nagina, which were previously strongholds of the SP and Congress.
