34 Muslim candidates win UP Assembly polls, 10 more than last time
Lucknow, Mar 11: Thirty-four Muslim candidates won in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, 10 more than the last state elections.
They were fielded by the Samajwadi Party (SP) and its alliance partners.
The BSP, Congress and the All-India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) had fielded a number of Muslim candidates but they could not win.
The Apna Dal (Sonelal), an ally of the BJP, had fielded Haidar Ali Khan from Swar seat in Rampur but he lost to SP's Abdullah Azam by over 61,000 votes.
Political analyst Rajendra Dwivedi said Muslim candidates can't win by just banking upon their community's support. The candidates of parties having strong vote bank win the polls, he said.
"The Muslim candidate cannot win only by banking upon the support of Muslim votes. They need the support of the party's base vote bank. For example, the core vote bank of the Samajwadi Party is Yadavs," he said, adding that the Muslim-Yadav combination ensures their win.
"The Muslims felt that it is only the Samajwadi Party, which can defeat the BJP," he said.
He added that the Congress does not have its own vote bank and there were no chances of its candidate winning the elections.
When asked about the dismal performance of the AIMIM, Hisam Siddiqui of an Urdu newspaper said, "The Muslims of UP know very well that one cannot win the elections by only banking on the Muslim votes. So, they are not convinced by Asaduddin Owaisi and completely ignore the AIMIM candidates."
He said Muslims attend Owaisi's rally in large numbers but do not vote for him.
As a result, the vote share of the AIMIM in this UP elections stood at 0.49 per cent, he said.
According to the Election Commission website, the Muslim candidates who got elected to the state Assembly on the SP ticket are Mohammad Azam Khan (Rampur), Mahboob Ali (Amroha), Ataur Rehman (Baehri), Umar Ali Khan (Behat), Jahid (Bhadohi), Shahjil Islam (Bhojipura), Mohammad Faheem (Bilari), Naseer Ahmed (Chamraua), Nafees Ahmed (Gopalpur), Mohammad Tahir Khan (Issauli) and Mohammad Hasan (Kanpur Cantonment).
Kamal Akhtar (Kanth), Shahid Manzoor (Kithaur), Jia-ur-Rehman (Kundarki), Arman Khan (Lucknow West), Maria (Matera), Rafiq Ansari (Meerut), Suhaib (Mohammadbad) and Mohammad Nasir (Moradabad rural) also won on the SP ticket.
The other Muslim MLAs of the SP are Tasleem Ahmed (Najijabad), Alam Badi (Nizamabad), Nadira Sultan (Patiyali), Fareed Mahfooz Kidwai (Ramnagar), Iqbal Mehmood (Sambhal), Jiauddin Rizvi (Sikandarpur), Haji Irfan Solanki (Sisamau), Nawabjan (Thaurdwara), Syeda Khatoon (Domariyaganj) and Ashu Malik (Saharanpur).
Abbas Anasri, son of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, won from Mau on the SBSP (Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party) ticket.
Ghulam Mohammad and Ashraf Ali won on the RLD ticket from Siwalkhas and Thanabhawan, respectively.
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UDF leaders see local body poll trends as pointer to 2026 Assembly elections in Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Buoyed by the strong performance of the Congress-led UDF in the local body polls, KPCC president Sunny Joseph said on Saturday that the front's results indicated the people had rejected the LDF government.
According to early trends, the UDF was leading in more grama panchayats, block panchayats, municipalities and corporations than the LDF.
The local body polls were held in two phases in the state earlier this week.
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Speaking to reporters here, Joseph said the people of Kerala had extended their support to the UDF.
"We could expose the LDF government’s anti-people stance and the people understood it. The LDF’s fake propaganda was rejected by the people. The UDF is moving towards a historic victory," he said.
He said a united effort, proper preparations, good candidate selection and hard work had resulted in the Congress and the UDF’s victory in the elections.
Asked about the prospects in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, Joseph said the party was studying the matter and would comment later.
LDF convenor T P Ramakrishnan said the results would be closely examined.
According to him, the government had done everything possible for the people.
"Why such a verdict happened will be examined at the micro level. People’s opinion will be considered and further steps will be taken," he said.
He added that decisions would be taken after analysing the results. "If any corrective measures are required, we will initiate them and move forward," he said.
AICC leader K C Venugopal said the results showed that people had begun ousting those who, he alleged, were responsible for the loss of gold at Lord Ayyappa’s temple.
"This trend will continue in the Assembly elections as well. It is an indication that the people are ready to bring down the LDF government," he said.
Venugopal said the UDF had registered victories even in CPI(M) and LDF strongholds.
"I congratulate all UDF workers for their hard work. Congress workers and leaders worked unitedly," he said.
Referring to remarks made by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan against the Congress on polling day, Venugopal said the voters had responded through the verdict.
"I do not know whether the chief minister understands that the people are against him. Otherwise, he does not know the sentiment of the people. The state government cannot move an inch further," he said.
He said the results indicated a strong comeback for the UDF in Kerala.
Asked whether the Sabarimala gold loss issue had affected the LDF in the local polls, Venugopal said the CM and the CPI(M) state secretary did not take the issue seriously.
"We took a strong stand on the matter. The BJP played a foul game in it," he alleged.
On the BJP's role in the local body elections, Venugopal alleged that the party operated with the CPI(M) 's tacit support.
"The CPI(M) supported the central government on issues such as PM-SHRI, labour codes and corruption in national highway construction. The CPI(M) is facing ideological decline, and the state government’s policies are against the party’s own decisions," he said.
Meanwhile, LDF ally Kerala Congress (M) leader Jose K Mani said the party could not win all the wards it had expected in the elections.
He congratulated winners from all parties and said the party would closely examine the losses and identify shortcomings. "Later, we will take corrective measures," he added.
Senior Congress leader and MP Rajmohan Unnithan said the trends in the local body elections indicated that the UDF would return to power in the 2026 Assembly elections.
"We will win 111 seats as in 1977 and return to power in 2026. The anti-government sentiment of the people is reflected in the elections," he said.
Unnithan said the people were disturbed and unhappy with the present government.
"The trend indicates the end of the LDF government," he added.
CPI(M) MLA M M Mani said the people had shown ingratitude towards the LDF despite benefiting from welfare schemes.
"After receiving all welfare schemes and living comfortably, people voted against us due to some temporary sentiments. Is that not ingratitude," he asked.
Mani said no such welfare initiatives had taken place in Kerala earlier.
"People are receiving pensions and have enough to eat. Even after getting all this, they voted against us. This is what can be called ingratitude," he said.
Muslim League state president Panakkad Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal said the results were beyond expectations.
"The outcome points towards the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram, indicating that a change of government is imminent. We are going to win the Assembly election," he said.
