Congress' promise of upholding AMU’s minority character fails to enthuse Aligarh’s intelligentsia

AGRA: The Congress party's promise of upholding the

minority character

of the AMU in its

polls manifesto

doesn’t seem to have cut much ice with the students and the teaching faculty of the university, as majority of them do not see the “grand old party” in a position to dislodge the BJP.


Notwithstanding the party’s attempt to woo the Muslims, a large section of the AMU’s intelligentsia feels that only the SP-BSP-RLD alliance in UP is capable of taking the BJP head-on and causing it the maximum damage. There seems to be a unanimity among that students and the teachers on this issue and they don’t see Congress as a “winnable” alternative.

Taking to TOI

Prof Tariq Islam

of department of Philosophy, said, “We have seen five years of the saffron party and what can we only recall is their politics of hatred and lynching”. He said it is now the duty of every citizen to vote for candidates who are not communal or create a sense of insecurity among the minorities.

Islam said, “in a way both the national parties, the BJP and the Congress are indulging in politics of Communalism. In their election manifesto, the Congress is trying to appease the sentiments of Muslims by promising to uphold the minority character of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU)”.

He said under the circumstances the only option now is to support “multiplicity” which is available in the grand alliance of SP-BSP-RLD.

Assistant Professor,

Dr Musavvir Ali

of AMU’s Maths department, said, “illiterate people should not be the part of the electoral system, as they tend to vote on emotive issues rather than thinking about the nation”. He said the last five years has seen growth of “fascism” and minority communities were targeted openly. “In Aligarh there are around 3 lakh Muslim, 2.5 lakh Dalits, one lakh Yadavs and nearly 70K Jaats voters and they together can easily defeat the BJP candidate. “Supporting BSP-SP-RLD alliance can be the answer to BJP’s defeat”, he said.

Ali added that the sitting MP and the BJP candidate,

Satish Gautam

, had done nothing for the constituency or the AMU except targeting it to polarize voters.

Prof Nazmul Islam, secretary of Aligarh Muslim University Teachers Association (AMUTA) said the saffron party targeted the AMU and did everything to tarnish its image. However, he said that they could not succeed.

He further said that politics of hate and lynching does not have place in any civilized society and hence BJP’s defeat is essential in these polls. “The idea is clear - we all have to oppose the fascist forces and support the candidate who can defeat the BJP and in present scenario the grand alliance is poised for it.

Assistant professor in Petroleum Studies, Ashraf Mateen, said that though candidates from both Congress and the alliance are from the Jat community and Jat leaders have already announced to support the SP-BSP-RLD alliance candidate, which is significant for BJP’s defeat.

Huzaifa Amir, secretary of AMU Students Union said that in his opinion BSP-SP-RLD alliance can defeat the BJP due to its caste chemistry. "We don't want to divide our votes to give advantage to the BJP candidate," he said, adding that Priyanka Gandhi is working hard and creating a spark but that might not be enough for it to win.

Though last time the Congress candidate, Bijendra Singh, finished fourth, the party has reposed its faith in him due to his reputation among the community. While the gathbandhan candidate- Ajit Baliyan, a Jat from BSP, the BJP has re-fielded sitting MP Satish Gautam despite opposition from within the ranks. Party’s veteran leader and Rajasthan’s Governor Kalyan Singh has also opposed Gautam’s candidature.