Mayawati’s Dalit-Muslim Card to play a big role in UP polls

AZAMGARH: Mayawati’s Dalit-Muslim formula, transfer of votes between the Congress and the Samajwadi Party and the BJP’s attempts to make inroads in Muslim dominated districts of UP will be tested on Monday.

Among the important seats for which polls will be held on Monday is Bahraich that has over 40% Muslim population. The seat has been considered a stronghold of veteran SP leader Waqar Ahmad Shah who is in coma since 2013. Waqar’s son Yasar is fighting to retain not only his own Matera seat but also his father’s traditional Bahraich where his mother is contesting. Anupama Jaiswal of the BJP is banking on a large number of Marwari voters in the town while the BSP’s Ajeet Pratap Singh has the backing of Dalits.

PM Modi, Mayawati and Akhilesh have all done rallies here. The UP police has been keeping a close eye on Bahraich for incidents of polarisation and violence.

In Gonda, Prateek Singh, son of five-time BJP MP Brijbhushan Sharan Singh, is contesting against party rebels Mahesh Narayan Tiwari who is associated with the RSS and Gonda Municipal Board chairman Nirmal Srivastava. To counter this, the BSP has fielded Muslim candidates in four of six unreserved seats in Gonda, in two of three unreserved seats in Balrampur, and in three of four such seats in Siddharth Nagar.