Bukhari's are deoband's, or what are called wahabis, with their principal seat at Deoband in Saharanpur. The other major Muslim sect is that of Barelvis or who are called Sunnis, with their seat at Bareilly. The latter are more in number. The former constitute about 20 to 30 per cent of the Muslim population.
Ahmed Mirza, from Beesalpur, says that the Barelvis will not accept this fatwa, but shall vote according to the candidate and if the BSP fields a proper candidate they might support him. But the deobandis are likely to follow the lead given by Bukhari. Ilyas Ahmed Ansari of Shahjahanpur says that Bukhari's call will be heeded by Deobandis but not by the Barelvis.
A cross section of Muslims in Azamnagar and other Muslim-dominated localities of the city concurred that Bukhari's intervention will not swing votes in favour of the BSP in Bareilly since they belong to a different sect. They say that the Muslims in Bareilly are happy with Mulayam Singh and they do not see the need for change. None of the respondents had gone to the BSP meeting.
Some others strongly objected to the Imam's statement, saying that he is an Imam and his task is to teach Islam and he should not be meddling in politics. Politicians have to do many things which are not moral; they have to utter blatant lies, manipulate etc., activities which should not be pursued by religious preachers. They, all Barelvis, say that our Akhtar Raza, the current holder of the Gaddi of the Barelvi sect, never interferes in politics. His cousins may, but he never does. Which is why he is listened to with great respect.
They were unanimous that the Deobands were going to follow the lead given by Bukhari and this is going to have a major impact on the voting pattern in places like Moradabad, Saharanpur and Meerut. This will change the situation where the BSP is already strong, as in Meerut. But this could work to the advantage of the BJP in other seats, by bringing about a split in the Muslim votes.
The alliance of the Bukharis with the BSP will not only bring them back into the arena of politics, from where they had been shunted out by Mulayam Singh Yadav. In the 1993 and 1996 Lok Sabha elections, Mulayam had not bothered to take their support. It is sweet revenge for the Bukharis.
The BSP, which had failed to win over the Muslims, despite fielding many Muslim candidates, has now made a major beginning and can hope to get a large chunk of Muslim votes in many areas.