In UP fray, BSP outdoes INDIA in fielding Muslim faces, sparks ‘vote-cutter’ blowback

Fighting the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh solo, the Mayawati-led BSP is going all out to woo the Muslim community, sharpening its attack on the ruling BJP.

Taking the lead in fielding Muslim faces in the polls, the BSP has named as many as 20 candidates from the community, including women candidates, out of the 72 nominees it has declared so far. This is by far the maximum number of Muslim candidates fielded by any major contender in UP in this election.

In some seats, the party has even replaced its senior leaders with new Muslim candidates. The 80 UP seats are bound for polls over seven phases.

In the Muslim-dominated Azamgarh constituency in Purvanchal (east UP), the BSP recently replaced its candidate Bhim Rajbhar, former state party president, with a Pasmanda (backward) Muslim woman Sabiha Ansari, which is said to be an attempt to strike a chord with Pasmanda Muslims as well as women voters of the community.

In this Samajwadi Party (SP)’s bastion currently held by the BJP, the SP has fielded Dharmendra Yadav, a cousin of party chief Akhilesh Yadav.

After changing its nominee, the BSP has mounted its Azamgarh campaign on the theme, “bunkar ki beti” (daughter of weavers), in a reference to Sabiha’s Ansari caste group.

Weavers are in sizeable numbers in not just Azamgarh but also its neighbouring districts including Bhadohi, Mau and even Varanasi.

A former Congress leader, Sabhia, 36, had been an office-bearer in the UP Congress’s minority wing. She was also a Congress ticket aspirant in the 2022 state Assembly polls, which was denied to her.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Ansari’s husband, Mashhod Ahmed said, “In the history of Purvanchal, it is Behenji (Mayawati), who has shown courage to give ticket to ‘bunkar ki