SP’s silence on Muslim issues: strategy or surrender?

Shedding the Muslim-Yadav image could have implications, caution observers

Salman Imtiaz, the outgoing president of Aligarh Muslim University Students’ Union, is miffed with the Samajwadi Party (SP) for not raising Muslim issues in the run-up to the Assembly election. Mr. Imtiaz recently gave a memorandum to the district administration demanding the release of Islamic scholar and cleric Kaleem Siddiqui, arrested by the U.P. police for allegedly running a conversion syndicate.

Every Opposition leader, he pointed out, rushed to Lakhimpur Kheri but none commiserated with the families of protesters who were killed in police firing in Assam. He claimed top officials and RSS leaders had been in touch with Siddiqui and were aware of his work. “Why has he been arrested before elections need to be questioned. If SP takes the Muslim vote for granted, it will be in for a surprise this time,” cautioned Mr. Imtiaz.

As western Uttar Pradesh warms up for election season, analysts say, Hindu-Muslim polarisation is a given, the question is behind whom would the Muslim vote polarise. Observers caution shedding the Muslim-Yadav image of the party could have implications.