Haider Abbas
The political environment in UP has now started with its permutations and combinations and everyday the possibilities of different ‘coalitions and alliances’ is getting into the newspapers columns. One such ‘alliance’ which relatively surprised political analysts, and particularly, those who have a knack of assuaging Muslim political currents in UP, was when All India Muslim Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) President Asaduddin Owaisi stood ‘in embrace’ with Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party President Om Prakash Rajbhar in December 2020 as a part of Bhagidari Sankalp Morcha. This had come after AIMIM had got buoyed by its five-MLAs win in the Bihar Assembly polls (2020). Owaisi was also then raring to go for West Bengal polls too where Muslim voters gave his party a drubbing and saw Mamta Banerjee romp home against what may be called as one of the mightiest onslaughts by BJP against any party in May 2021.
This Bhagidari Sankalp Morcha was to have some other smaller parties such as Jan Adhikar Party of Babu Singh Kushwaha, Rashtriya Uday Party, Rashtriya Upekshit Samaj Party, Janata Kranti Party and others. With the exception of OP Rajbhar, the others are not even well-known by any political standard. It was however, surprising as to why Owaisi did not figure out with the other Muslim political outfits like Muslim Majlis, Momin Conference, Indian National League, Parcham Party, National Ulema Council etc and instead chose to gamble with a loud-mouth OP Rajbhar who debunked Owaisi on August 4, when he called to support BJP, in 2022, if BJP announced an Other Backward Classes (OBC) candidate as CM.
Rajbhar had been inside UP CM Ajay Singh Bisht cabinet and had parted ways owing to ‘some differences’ with CM in 2019. If he was to rebel for the cause of OBC politics, why ever would he take a cabinet rank? His latest call, despite all the incredible somersaults he has made in over the 4-plus years, was a ploy to bat for Keshav Prasad Maurya, who is an OBC and Deputy CM of BJP in UP. Hence, for Rajbhar a truck with BJP was still to be possible. Rajbhar rebuff towards Owaisi was actually in-the-making as the former had refused to share a dais with Owaisi in a rally in Moradabad on July 16. As after all, he was to have a tea inside a ‘closed-door’ with BJP Minister Bhupender Singh on July 19.
Owaisi was red-faced at the obvious turn-around and snapped his purported alliance the next day on August 5, but Rajbhar further ridiculed him by confirming that Owaisi was still a part of Bhagidari Sankalp Morcha and reiterated that he had related his meeting of UP BJP President SD Singh (August 3) to Owaisi, according to Economic Times on August 4. What Owaisi has to answer to it? In fact Owaisi had ‘turned-turtle’ as he went ahead with Rajbhar whose party is named after Suheldev who had fought a war against Syed Salar Masood Ghazi in 1034. It proved that Rajbhar considered Owaisi as ‘history-illiterate’ or else why ever would such an unnatural alliance occur? As even a naïve would reckon that a party named after Suheldev, would have its basic premise against Salar Masood, which by extension means: Muslims. How can such a gross omission be swept under the carpet? Anything in the name of OBC politics, which is not necessarily always against BJP, is not such an easy pie. Moreover, Rajbhar has been engaged in OBC politics which is bereft of any of his credibility into socialism. He is now flirting with Samajwadi Party (SP) President Akhilesh Yadav.
A mistake is always the first time. Owaisi, has been caught second-time on the wrong foot. He had left the Muslims flabbergasted when he made Syed Rafat Zubair, the general-secretary of UP AIMIM! Where was his homework? Wasn’t he into knowing that Rafat was a BJP man, who was ‘deeply-associated’ with BJP Urban Development Minister Lal Ji Tandon from decades, and earned his infamy when he publically organized a blood-camp for Tandon in 1997. How could ever he was expected to change his tentacles when in 2017, Rafat announced from the pulpit of AIMIM that Muslims would withdraw their claim from over Babri Masjid, if BJP and PM Narendra Modi offers an apology! How such an absurd and gullible statement could come from AIMIM forum? Owaisi had to finally expel him.
No doubt Owaisi has been bolstered by his Bihar success but UP is too big to handle. Is he into knowing that once Muslim Majlis (started in 1968) by a stalwart AJ Faridi, had attained eight MLAs and two MPs from UP in 1977 but everything melted as the party could not rake up an infrastructure of organization and cadre. To call for a gauntlet in UP it is to make for a cadre-base which is an impossibility, despite what Owaisi speaks in Parliament and media-debates. UP is the cauldron where the worst ever conceived communalistic politics has been underplay, since at least 1986, when Babri Masjid locks were opened up at the behest of Congress and now harvested by BJP.
It is here where Mulayam Singh Yadav stands tall, for his role in ‘upholding-the-law’ on October 30, 1990, when he saved the Babri Masjid or else it was to have got demolished then. Muhammed Azam Khan later became one of the founders of SP with Mulayam Singh Yadav. This alliance has continued despite the many ‘hiccups and failings’. No wonder SP, therefore since 1993, has always remained the number-one priority of Muslims in the state, solely for the sake that it is SP which has always risen to the Muslim ‘need-of-the-hour’.
Owaisi in UP-2022, is all likely to end up dismal on the lines of what happened in West Bengal.
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The writer is a former UP State Information Commissioner and a political analyst.
AIMIM Zindabad
Allha willing, AIMIM will win many seat in UP.
Muslims of UP are back bone of samajwadi party. Even then riots happened in mujaffarnagar.
And Azam khan is in jail, samajwadi party didn’t make a statement about his bail. As muslim are mute voter and don’t demand any thing to party and even don’t know which party is good for community. Now all “Meer Jaffar” Are persuading muslim not to favour AIMIM.
Bol_bachchan, Andh-bhakti, BJP rishwat aur zaleel EVM : yehi hi haye AIMIM blind-idiots ka eemaan aur hikmat.
Let AIMIM win more than 1 Mp seat and more than 8 MLA seats in Telangana itself. Then, we can hold them to a higher standard 🥱🥱. Everyone in Hyderabad knows Owaisi’s cheapskate character ; he will simply ally (or) won’t go against whoever is in power. If BJP wins in 2023 in telangana, it won’t take much time for him to jump ships.