Click to play videoLucknow: Muslims in UP Assembly elections have voted like anybody else. They haven’t voted as Muslims - the Muslim vote combined with other votes to keep the BJP out of power.
Muslims constitute 17 per cent of electorate in UP. They have voted Mulayam Singh Yadav out but they haven't voted Mayawati in.
Three faces of Muslim victories in Uttar Pradesh - a veteran of the Samajwadi Party Muslim bandwagon Azam khan, the firebrand speaker from Eastern Uttar Pradesh Haji Yakoob Qureshi and if you are wondering how is she in this list - think again the story as it emerged today.
Muslims in UP have voted like anybody else. They haven’t voted as Muslims and haven’t voted Muslims to power.
A look at the Muslims first - United Democratic Front's Haji Yakoob Qureishi who shot into limelight after the Danish cartoon controversy won from Meerut but he too lost in Kharkhauda.
UP's notorious don Mukhtar Ansari an independent candidate won from Mau in Eastern UP.
And whatever happened to Rahul Gandhi's appeal to Muslims. Aligarh went to SP and Lucknow to BJP.
And in Kaimganj the fate of Louise Khursheed wife of Congress Chief in UP Salman Khusheed was no different.
In the end, she got the Muslims voting for her in the minority strongholds of Ruhelkhand and Western UP.
They could have celebrated his 68th birthday but in this election Muslims refused to party in his party. The Muslim stronghold and also Mulayam's Rohilkhand disturbed the permutation for Mulayam.
Mulayam's Samajwadi Party could just manage 14 seats as against 27 in 2002. SP's loss proved victory for BSP.
But Mulayam's Eid celebrations had some relief in one place. North Eastern UP Samajwadi Party got 23 seats here. Interestingly, the Muslim vote combined with other votes to achieve what it seriously aimed for, keep the BJP out of power tactically as far as possible.
How percentage of votes of Muslims for SP has increased but it could not consolidate into votes so clearly it was an election where the Muslims are the surprise package.
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