BJP on their mind, SP-BSP and Congress field fewer Muslim candidates in UP

The number of Muslims in the fray is far fewer compared to the 2014 Lok Sabha election

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BSP chief Mayawati and SP President Akhilesh Yadav (left) jointly campaign for SP candidate Azam Khan in Rampur recently. Together the SP, the BSP and the Congress have nominated 18 Muslim candidates as against 41 in 2014 Photo: PTI

Virendra Singh Rawat

4 min read Last Updated : Apr 28 2019 | 8:40 PM IST

Addressing the maiden “mahagathbandhan” (grand alliance) rally on April 7 in Uttar Pradesh, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) President Mayawati deftly played the Muslim card by exhorting the minority community to vote en bloc for the alliance candidates so that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), ruling at the Centre and in the state, could be defeated.

Mayawati’s clarion call in Deoband town, Saharanpur district, which has a sizeable Muslim population apart from the revered Deoband seminary, amply indicated the high-stakes bet that the mahagathbandhan comprising the BSP, Samajwadi Party (SP) and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) has placed on the community to take

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