In a departure from previous developments of consolidating behind a single get together towards the BJP, Muslim voters within the Uttar Pradesh city native physique (ULB) polls seem to have solid votes for candidates of their alternative, together with these from smaller events. In a number of seats, Muslims ignored the candidates of their group from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) and voted for Independents, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), and even the BJP.
Another facet of this voting pattern is that Muslims did not vote en block against the ruling BJP — a reduction for the get together forward of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and validation of its varied outreach programmes for the minority group — in a state the place the SP and the BSP are sometimes seen as their default alternative on the poll field.
In mayoral elections, the AIMIM’s Anas obtained 1.28 lakh votes in Meerut to complete second. At one time throughout the relying on Saturday, Anas even led although he was ultimately defeated by the BJP by over 1 lakh votes. The SP’s Seema Pradhan completed third with 1.28 lakh votes. Hasmat of the BSP completed fourth with 54,076 votes and Naseem Qureshi of Congress obtained solely 15,473 votes. The BSP had fielded the utmost variety of Muslim candidates (11) within the mayoral polls.
“The Samajwadi Party which had always been labelling the AIMIM as the BJP’s B team is, in fact, playing the second fiddle to the lotus party and it was because of the SP that our candidates could not defeat their BJP counterparts at a majority of seats,” mentioned Anas.
In Moradabad, the BJP’s Vinod Agrawal defeated the Congress’s Mohammad Rizwan by round 4,000 votes. The Muslim votes appeared to have been unfold over a number of Opposition candidates, with the AIMIM’s Mustujab Ahmed receiving 6,215 votes, greater than the victory margin. The BSP’s Mohd Yameen completed third with 15,858 votes and the SP’s Saiyyad Raisuddin got here fourth place with 13,447 votes.
In Muslim-dominated Saharanpur, the BJP’s Ajay Kumar grew to become Mayor by defeating the BSP’s Khadija Masood by almost 8,000 votes. Masood obtained 1.46 lakh votes. The SP’s Noor Hasan obtained 22,038 votes. The BJP’s Umesh Gautam received in Bareilly for the second time in a row, defeating an Independent candidate I S Tomar, with the BSP’s Yusuf Khan getting 16,874 votes and AIMIM’s Mohd Sartaj 10,356 votes.
In the OBC women-reserved Firozabad, the BJP’s Kamini Rathore defeated the SP’s Mashrur Fatima by over 27,000 votes. However, the BSP’s Rukhsana Begum obtained 52,695 votes, which is far more than the victory margin. In Prayagraj, BSP’s Saeed Ahmed completed fourth with 36,799 votes, with Muslim votes divided amongst AIMIM’s Mohd Naki Khan (24,023 votes) and AAP’s Mohd Kadir (14,253 votes).
In Ghaziabad, reserved for ladies, the BSP’s Nisara Khan obtained 63,249 votes whereas AIMIM’s Shanaz Dilshad obtained 26,045 votes, with the Yadav candidate of the SP getting 57,608 votes. In Kanpur Nagar, which can be reserved for ladies, the BJP’s Pramila Pandey — a Brahmin — defeated the Brahmin candidates of the SP and the Congress. But the AIMIM’s Shahna Parveen made her presence felt, getting 16,372 votes. The AAP’s Isma Zaheer too obtained 9,839 votes. The BJP’s Brahmin candidate in Ayodhya defeated SP’s Brahmin nominee by a margin of 35,638 votes. But the AIMIM’s Rehan obtained 15,107 votes, which was greater than the BSP’s 12,852 votes.
Muslim votes appeared divided in Aligarh too, the place SP’s Zameerullah Khan completed second with 1.32 lakh votes. The BSP’s Salman Shahid with 49,762 votes stood third. The AIMIM’s Gurfan Noor obtained 7,712 votes right here. BJP’s Prashant Singhal received by over 61,000 votes.
In Lucknow, the BSP’s Shaheen Bano was the one Muslim candidate. She obtained 75,997 votes, which was decrease than the votes the Hindu candidates of the SP and the Congress obtained right here. In OBC women-reserved Shahjahanpur, the place the mayoral election was performed for the primary time, the Congress’s Nikhat Iqbal completed second with 50,484 votes. The BSP’s Shagufta Anjum obtained solely 5,545 votes to complete fourth. The BJP’s Archana Singh received by 30,278 votes.
Muslim candidates of the AIMIM and the AAP additionally polled extra votes than Muslim candidates of the SP and the BSP within the contests for Nagar Palika Parishad and Nagar Panchayat chairperson. In the Sambhal Nagar Palika Parishad, the AIMIM’s Ashia received by getting 40,425 votes. The BSP’s Azma Tashqueel obtained solely 10,175 votes and the SP’s Rukhsana Iqbal obtained 7,662 votes. In the Sikandrarao seat in Hathras district, the AIMIM’s Mohd Musheer received by getting 9,144 votes and the SP’s Fanoos Begum completed third by getting solely 3,745 votes.
In the Kundarki Nagar Panchayat chairperson seat, the AIMIM’s Zeenat received with 5,015 votes. The AAP’s Naseema was runner-up with 3,768 votes and the Congress’s Saira Bano obtained 3,072 votes.
Muslim votes additionally get divided in Thiriya Nizawat Khan Nagar panchayat, the place the AIMIM’s Imran Ali Khan received by getting 2,993 votes, whereas the BSP’s Naushad Ali Khan obtained 2,417 votes and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD)’s Kismat Ali obtained 2,281 votes.
The AAP’s Sana Khanam received the chairperson’s seat in Rampur Nagar Palika, an SP bastion, by getting 43,121 votes. The BJP’s Mussarat Mujeeb was runner-up with 32,173 votes and the SP’s Fatma obtained 16,273 votes. The Congress’s Seema Rauf obtained 1,890 and the BSP’s Rafia obtained 965 votes.
The AAP’s Muslim candidates additionally defeated candidates of the SP, the BSP and the Congress in Nagar Panchayats of Shahpur (Muzaffarnagar), Pakbada (Moradabad), Zoya (Amroha) and Kaimri (Rampur).
The BJP had fielded Muslim candidates in chairperson’s seats for the primary time and all of its 5 nominees received from Gopamau (Hardoi), Sultanpur Chillkana (Saharanpur), Sirisi (Sambhal), Dhauratanda (Bareilly), and Bhojpur Dharmpur (Moradabad). In Sirsi, the BSP’s Kausar Abbas defeated 12 different Muslim candidates of the SP, the BSP, the Congress, the RLD, and Independents. In Dhauratanda, the BJP’s Nadeem Ul Hasan (6,417 votes) defeated Muslim candidates of the SP (5,465 votes) and the AIMIM (2,034).
The BJP’s Farkhanda Zabin received in Bhojpur Dharmpur with 7,816 votes, defeating candidates of the SP (3,934 votes), the BSP (1,890 votes) and the AIMIM.
“Support for BJP’s Muslim candidates and division of Muslim votes among different political parties show that their (Muslims’) hate for the BJP is gradually decreasing. Earlier, it was believed that Muslims votes for the party that appears best positioned to defeat the BJP. But now they are giving votes to candidates of every political party,” mentioned a BJP chief.
“Our leadership should at least wake up from the slumber or else we will be near political obliteration by the next general elections in Uttar Pradesh,” mentioned a senior SP functionary in Meerut.