Sonia Shores Up Cong In Muslim Areas

The Congress has come alive in the Muslim localities of the city. Party flags can be seen fluttering in these areas and Congress workers are no longer furtive in their movements. They are out canvassing, even smiling, a marked change for a lot that was hitherto isolated and scared.

The person who has brought about this change is none other then the star Congress campaigner, Sonia Gandhi. Her recent visits in this region has galvanised a party that has always ruled Uttar Pradesh, until the Ayodhya issue marginalised the party and saw the rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Samajwadi Party.

 

Sonia Gandhis visits have affected the existing political equations to some extent. This could further divide the non-BJP votes to the BJPs benefit.

Many Muslims have already decided to switch their allegiance from the Samajwadi Party to the Congress. This has forced Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav to harp on the alleged misdeeds of the Congress. He has also warned Sonia Gandhi against raking up the Babri issue.

An interaction with a section of Muslims in Kanpur is revealing.

Abdul Jabbar, a shop-keeper, says that business confidence is low and there are no profits to be made. Therefore, interest in politics and voting is also low. We are with Mulayam Singh only because of the Babri Masjid issue. Otherwise, he has done very little for us, he says. The decision to vote for a particular party will be taken 36 hours before the polling. Sonia has managed to exert some influence on the Muslims even though 90 per cent are still considered to be with Mulayam Singh Yadav.

But Zahoorul Hasan, who hails from the Bisati community and has a shop in Bisati Bazaar, says that Sonia has made all the difference. The Muslims have begun shifting their allegiance since it is believed that the Nehru-Gandhi family has always been even handed with the minority community.

Bisati is a prosperous business community and was the last among the various sections of Muslims to move away from the Congress. They are now likely to be the first to return to the Congress fold. Hasan estimates that about 30 per cent Muslims have already shifted to the Congress. The figure could increase if the Sonia wave gains momentum.

Abdul Razzak Mansoori, another shop-keeper, has already moved on to the Sonia bandwagon. He criticises Mulayam Singh Yadav, the defence minister, for making Muslims an enemy of the Hindus, and for not doing anything for the community even in the defence ministry.

He says that if polling were to take place tomorrow, 60 per cent Muslims will cast their votes for the Samajwadi Party and about 30 per cent in favour of the Congress. The Bahujan Samaj Party could get 5 to 7 per cent and the BJP, about 2 to 3 per cent. There is a frustrated lot of Muslim youth which says let the BJP come to power, we shall see what it will do to us.

However, perceptions change as one shifts to the weaving Ansari community of Faithfulgunj, where Mulayam Singh Yadav holds sway. The Ansaris point out that even though he had not done much for the community, he is the best bet among the rest. Sonia has not cut much ice in this area; here, the cycle is the favourite although the Ansaris believe that cycle will get punctured (cycle is the Samajwadi Partys symbol).

The scene is slightly different in Babupurva. A Samajwadi Party supporter says only one per cent of the Muslim vote will go to the BSP and the rest is committed to the Samajwadi Party. The BSP will lose heavily because of its alliance with the BJP in the state. In the last elections, the BSP got 5 per cent votes of Muslims from here. But he also says that if Sonia Gandhi were to visit the area, the equations could change.

Iqbal Ansari, a doctor, acknowledges Sonia Gandhis influence, and notes that until some time ago, Congress supporters could not speak freely, but now things have changed, thanks to her. Congressmen are no longer called kafirs, he says. The Congress will take away about 5 to 10 per cent of the Muslim vote, says Abdul Hannan Ansari, a local politician.

In Fahimabad, the Muslims hoped for an alliance between the Congress and the SP. The Congress has again become a point of attraction due to Sonia Gandhi, but in the absence of an alliance, they have no plans to ditch the SP for Congress.