The extension of this pattern allowed the BJP or its allies, for the first time, to have a Muslim member in the state legislative assembly
Muslim voters threw up a surprise in the urban local body (ULB) election with the way they voted. Reason: This time they used their discretion rather than voting en masse for any particular party as they used to do earlier.
“I will say Muslims are in experimental mode. They have come out of traditional realm and put some thought behind the voting pattern as their traditional line was not working,” said Athar Hussain, director, Centre for Objective Research and Development, Lucknow.
The extension of this pattern allowed the BJP or its allies, for the first time, to have a Muslim member in the state legislative assembly. Apna Dal (Sonelal) candidate Shafiq Ahmed Ansari polled over 50% votes and won Suar (in Rampur) assembly bypoll. The Samajwadi Party (SP) had fielded Anuradha Chauhan from the seat.
The community sided with AIMIM’s Mohd Anas in Meerut mayoral election as he ended a runner-up. The SP had given ticket to senior leader Atul Pradhan’s wife from a seat where OBC Muslims are in a sizeable number.
Similarly, the community by and large backed the BSP in Saharanpur, rejecting SP candidate Ashu Malik as an outsider. Or for that matter, their support extended to the BSP in Agra, and to the Samajwadi Party in Lucknow.
Moradabad, Jhansi and Ayodhya mayoral seats saw Muslim voters tilting towards the Congress. In Kanpur, voting pattern suggest Muslims were divided between the Congress and the SP. However, they went with the SP which came second and the Congress third. Both the parties had fielded Brahmin candidates on a seat which has 20% Brahmins and 18% Muslims.
“The Muslims used their discretion in voting after a long time. It is a matter of great interest they did in an election that is largely personalised,” said Tariq Raza Fatimi, retired professor of Halim Muslim PG College, Kanpur.
“This is an important drift since the 90s. Never before they have gone to various parties syncing their preference with local equations,” he said, adding the pattern sent out a message to political parties that now Muslim votes should not be taken for granted.
“One more aspect seen in this election was the indifference in urban Muslim voters that did not come out to vote. Urban Muslims seemed disappointed and there could be many reasons the political parties need to study and fix,” Hussain said.
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May 14, 2023 at 09:44PM
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U.P. civic polls 2023: ‘Muslims changed voting trend, used discretion this time’ - Hindustan Times
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