Lucknow: The Congress is keen on bringing Muslims and dalits back into its fold in Uttar Pradesh before the next Lok Sabha elections. The party strategy is to cash in on the dalit disillusionment with the BSP, particularly in western UP. The party believes if dalits return to the Congress, Muslims would follow.
For this, the Congress has already announced its support for the Bhim army, which is becoming increasingly popular among the dalit youth. UP Congress vice-president Imran Masood has not only been in close touch with Bhim Army leader Chandra Shekhar but also rushed in to support him when the latter was arrested last week.
“We are cautioning the police that no harm should come to Chandra Shekhar or else the state government will be responsible for the consequences,” Imran Masood had warned at a press conference. He later met the Bhim Army leader in jail too.
“There is no political design in our support to Bhim Army, but we are protesting against one-sided action. Why was no action taken against BJP leaders who started the clashes on April 20? Why are only dalits being targeted by the government?” he asked.
UPCC spokesman Surendra Rajput clarified, “Our stand is clear. We will stand with anyone who is discriminated against and is victimised by the government”. He blamed the state government for not acting in an impartial manner in the Saharanpur clashes.
“If the government had behaved impartially, action would have been taken against the BJP leaders too,” he said.
With dalits and Muslims forming a sizeable population in western Uttar Pradesh, political observers feel that the coming together of these two communities could change the political complexion in the next elections.
Former Congress MLC Naseeb Pathan said, “Muslims are uncomfortable with the ‘new’ Samajwadi Party because the community trusted Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav, who has now been completely sidelined. They do not have full faith in the new SP leadership and are ready to return to the Congress if it goes alone in the next elections. There is pressure on our leadership for this”.
The Congress, in the 2009 and 2014 Lok Sabha elections, got only marginal Muslim support because till then Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav was playing the dominant role in SP. dalits turned “Hindus first” and shifted to the BJP in 2014 after the Muzaffarnagar riots in 2013, which created the Hindu-Muslim divide in western UP. As a result, BJP got a sweeping victory in UP where it won 71 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in 2014. The scene was replayed in 2017 Assembly elections where even a section of Muslims went with BJP.
