Mulayam Singh’s decision to field criminals a desperate measure after Muzzafarnagar’s riots

LUCKNOW: Ethical politics seems to have made way for political expediency in the Samajwadi Party following president Mulayam Singh Yadav's overarching prime ministerial ambition. The party’s strong belief in feudal politics may have made it overlook the writing on the wall. So, even as Delhi showed the voter’s urge for a clean polity, SP’s seems to be backpedaling its cycle by handing over tickets to history sheeters and by opposing the Lokpal bill.

The party’s recent decision to field Atiq Ahmed, who has several serious cases against him, from Sultanpur drew comparisons with the principled stand taken by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav in 2012, when he ensured DP Yadav was denied a ticket. 20 months on, Akhilesh Yadav has justified grant of ticket to Atiq Ahmed, saying, “the battle against communalists must be fought on the ground.”

Lucknow University’s Prof Sudhir Panwar termed this as, “sheer desperation of Mulayam Singh Yadav to bring all Muslim leaders under the SP umbrella. He does not want any minority leader of consequence to contest from any other party apart from his own. Mulayam does not want Muslim votes to be split and is willing to reach out to all kinds of leaders in the community. There is a fear in Samajwadi Party that welfare measures for minority community will not be enough for it to sail through in the Lok Sabha polls.”


That fear turned acute after the Muzzafarnagar riots – that saw violent clashes between Jats and Muslims in several pockets of western UP leaving 62 dead – as a host of Muslim clerics, including general secretary of Jamat-e-Ulema-e-Hind, Mahmood Madani, Ittehad e Millat Council head Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan and the All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawrat, slammed the Akhilesh government for its inability to control riots and demanded the government’s dismissal.

SP’s practical wisdom had it plumbing for winning candidates. “Many criminals-turned-politicians have little to do with ideology but practice politics of patronage, which helps them get votes. SP believes that such leaders have acceptance in society. It is winnability that has become paramount,” said journalist Ram Dutt Tripathi, who has observed UP politics for four decades.

However, Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawad says criminals are turning irrelevant in politics. “Look at the AAP victory in Delhi. It is a clear sign that people are not going to support tainted leaders, leave alone those with criminal history. The Muslim community does not see criminal politicians as its leaders. The SP should not have given a ticket to Atiq Ahmed. How can such a person sit in Parliament? But it is not just SP; all political parties do the same,” said the Maulana.

AAP’s good showing seems to have added to SP’s desperation: “SP fears an AAP upsurge in urban areas near Delhi and want to consolidate elsewhere, reasons Professor Panwar.

“It also believes in subjugation of all wings of governance before political bosses. It cannot fathom a system where a Lokpal will keep pulling them up for follie.

That is why Mulayam keeps saying that if the Lokpal bill is passed a cop will summon the PM,” he added.

But the defeat of criminal elements in the 2012 assembly polls indicate SP's tactics are unlikely to pay it dividends.