To back Akhilesh or not, the quandary of UP Muslims

AGRA: Unsure about the fate of the Samajwadi Party after the rift between the father and son, Muslims in Uttar Pradesh are weighing their options about whether they should back Akhilesh or shift to the Bahujan Samaj Party, which is desperately trying to woo them by fielding 97 candidates from the community.
Saud Alam Quasmi, president of Iqra Educational Society and former dean of physiology, Aligarh Muslim University, said that though the community would like to back Akhilesh, they would be left with no option except to shift their support to the BSP in case the young Yadav fails to be seen as winning, a situation which eludes the SP at present.“If Akhilesh can muster the support of secular parties and create a formidable alliance to beat the BJP, the community will back him to the hilt,” Quasmi said.
Shakeel Samdani of the AMU’s law department echoed this view and said, “If the SP does not have an alliance before the elections, Muslims may shift their support to the second-best option, the BSP, as Akhilesh, on his own, doesn’t appear to be a winning horse. With the BSP giving a large representation to the community in ticket allotment, Mayawati has successfully created a perception of being pro-Muslim.”
M Wasim Raja, executive member of NGO Sir Syed Awareness Forum and associate professor at the history department in AMU said, “Muslims are at present indecisive and face a quandary. They like Akhilesh’s clean and secular image but are not sure about his ability to win.” He said Muslims did not want their vote to be fragmented, as that would ensure a BJP victory.
Raja added that in case Akhilesh failed to come up with a winning combination, Muslims may shift their vote to BSP, provided they are sure that Mayawati will have no truck with the BJP.
Mufti Mohd Zahid, associate professor at AMU’s theology department, who recently attended a meeting of RSS and Muslim intellectuals from across the country, said, “Despite all the talks by the saffron party, they do not want Muslim votes.” Referring to the recent controversial statements of some BJP leaders, Zahid said this clearly shows that they are against the community.
Zahid however said if the SP and Congress fail to have an alliance, the advantage of Muslim votes would go to the BSP, which has fielded a large number of candidates from the community.
Local Muslim leader in Agra, Haji Jamiluddin Qureshi said Muslims are still “waiting and watching”. He said any combination that can beat the BJP would benefit from Muslim votes.