Ayodhya mosque trust chief Zufar Farooqui to contest Sunni waqf board elections, vies for third stint as board chairman

Ayodhya: President of the Ayodhya Mosque Trust (Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation), Zufar Farooqui, will be contesting the March 6 elections for membership of UP Sunni Central Waqf Board, making him a strong contender to the waqf board chairman’s post for a third consecutive stint. The elections were necessitated by Allahabad High Court’s order, quashing the September 30, 2020, directive of the additional chief secretary minority welfare and waqf to extend the waqf board’s tenure.
Farooqui, who was waqf board chairman before his term ended in April last year, confirmed to TOI that “he is contesting from the mutawalli quota as caretaker of Waqf Sayyad Mohammad Ismail, Sitapur”.
The Waqf Board’s statute lays down broad contours for conduct of elections, which includes polling for eight members — two from Bar Council, two members of Parliament (Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha), two members of UP legislative assembly or council and two members from mutawalli quota of waqfs with a minimum annual income of Rs 1lakh. Another three members are nominated to the board by the state government and this includes an officer of special secretary rank, a religious scholar and a social worker. The Board chairman is then elected by these members, all of whom have to be Sunni Muslim, according to the rule book.
Talking to TOI, Sayyad Shoeb, chief executive officer of Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board, said, “We are giving final shape to the voters’ list, which comprises over 600 voters representing different waqfs in the state. Members of waqfs with minimum annual income of Rs 1 lakh constitute the electoral college.”
Besides Farooqui, Adnan Farrukh Shah will also be contesting for Board membership from the mutawalli quota representing Waqf Imambara, Gorakhpur. Both Farooqui and Shah were members of the Board in last two terms.
Two members from Bar council, Abdul Razzaq Khan and Imran Mabood Khan, who were members in the last tenure are likely to get elected unopposed because there are only two Sunni Muslims in Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh.
As per tradition, no contest is held for membership from MP/MLA quota. However, there could be a change in membership in this category this year as many former members are out of the race. There are 7 Sunni Muslim MPs from Uttar Pradesh (6 in Lok Sabha and 1 in Rajya Sabha), 24 Sunni Muslim MLAs and 7 Sunni Muslim MLCs.