Putting a spoke in SP-Congress wheel, Shia cleric Maulana Kable today appealed to Muslims not to vote for the alliance in Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, saying the two parties "ignored and betrayed the community".
"Congress always worked against the Muslims, while the SP government did nothing for the community except betraying them. Now these parties are contesting polls in an alliance. I appeal to everyone, especially Muslims, not to vote for them in the election," he told a press conference here.
When asked about the party he would support, he declined to elaborate, saying, "Talks are on. I will decide about it in next three days."
Jawwad, who is known for his bitter relations with Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan, had recently met BSP leader Naseemuddin Siddiqui.
The cleric's remarks assume significance given the fact that Muslims account for nearly 20 per cent of the electorate and can make or mar the electoral fortune of any party or its candidate in the in the high-stakes Assembly polls.
Coming down heavily on Akhilesh Yadav government, he alleged the present dispensation has "only given riots and by appealing in Supreme Court against Muslim youths, who were set free by the lower court, he (Akhilesh) has proved that he is anti-Muslim."
Jawwad, who is also a member All India Muslim Personal Law board (AIMPLB), has a good clout among the Shia community.
Political analysts said the cleric's comments would dampen the optimism of the Muslim community in western Uttar Pradesh which had gone up several notches higher in view of Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance.
Falling in the first phase of elections, the region, which has a higher percentage of Muslim population (26 per cent) than the rest of the state as a whole (19 per cent), is likely to influence electoral outcomes as the polls move from west to east.
Earlier, prominent cleric Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahali had said Muslims will support the SP-Congress alliance as it had the potential to defeat "fascist forces".
As per the 2001 Census, there are 72.69 per cent Hindus and 25.89 per cent Muslims in western Uttar Pradesh. Even though Hindus are in a majority, the percentage of Muslims is higher in the belt than in the state as a whole.
The buzz in the region is about defeating BJP and who can do that, the analysts said.
Keeping this scenario in mind, BSP has fielded 97 Muslims, 12 more than last time, to ensure Dalit-Muslim consolidation in a bid to wrest power from Samajwadi Party. Uttar Pradesh has 403 Assembly seats.
Muslims, who had by and large supported SP in the 2012 election, are in a quandary in view of the squabblings in the Yadav family and factional fights between Akhilesh and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav, which was settled by the Election Commission recently.
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