Mohammad Azharuddin may have been a successful captain of the Indian cricket team, but his ‘non-performance’ as a Member of Parliament seems to have queered the pitch for the Congress in Moradabad and this seems to have had a direct impact on Begum Noor Bano’s campaign, who is the party’s candidate this time from here.
The Begum, wife of Nawab of Rampur Zulfiqar Ali Khan, who lost two consecutive lok Sabha polls from her ancestral seat in 2004 and 2009, shifted to Moradabad where polling was held on Thursday (April 17). However, if the prevailing mood within the constituency is anything to go by, the Congress seems to be swimming against the tide.
The BSP, which failed to register its presence in Moradabad in the previous two elections, seems to have gained in TRPs as its candidate Haji Mohammad Yakub’s meetings during the run-up to the polling date, garnered huge numbers.
“The Begum is nowhere to be seen. She is absent from the campaigning and her prospects are bleak as she is not even being discussed. Haji Mohammad Yakub though is leading the pack right now,” said Anil Kumar, a shopkeeper from a neighbouring village Kundarki on the outskirts of the city.
“This time it is a contest between the BSP and the BJP,” said Fasiuddin Khan, a retired teacher and political analyst, who resides in the old city area.With the polling over for seat, the fate of all the three principal candidates of the Congress, the BJP and the BSP would not be unraveled on May 16, when the counting will take place for all the lok Sabha seats.
Yakub, for those who came in late, shot into notoriety when last month he had described the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi as “the country’s most cruel barbarian”. Prior to this, in February this year, he had declared a cash reward of Rs51 crore for anybody who would behead the Danish cartoonist who had drawn the controversial cartoons of Prophet Mohammad.
The BSP candidate, who has been a two-time MlA and also a Minister in the Mayawati Government, seems to have tapped the Muslim voters’ mood especially in the context of Modi’s presence as the BJP’s national face during the ongoing lok Sabha polls.His utterings, incidentally, has made him popular and one could see homes and shops displaying the BSP banner sporting a beaming Yakub, especially in the old town area of the city famous for its brassware.
With Bano nowhere to be seen, the BSP candidate faces a stiff challenge from Kunwar Sarvesh Kumar of the BJP. Kumar had lost to Azharuddin in 2009 by 50,000 votes and is again in the fray, though this time his candidature has been lent strength by Modi’s presence.
Though, Kumar could seek comfort from the fact that BSP candidate Rajiv Tihen had finished a distant third from here in 2009 and was behind him by more than one lakh votes, he would be vary of the Mayawati-led party’s renewed vigour this time.Apart from this, the BJP is also battling another challenge — the 45.5 per cent Muslim population of Moradabad.
A political observer said that despite Yakub’s popularity and the Congress’ waning appeal in the seat, the situation remains unclear as Yadav votes could get divided in Moradabad owing to the Samajwadi Party’s poor presence here. The Yadav youth is wavering as there is a curiosity factor among them for Modi. At the same time while Muslims are clear that Modi needs to be stopped at any cost and for this the BJP should be restricted to less than 30 seats in Uttar Pradesh, the business community which represents the Bania votes is clearly with BJP’s Kumar.
“If Saini and Muslim votes don’t get divided then the BSP could gain, while at the same time due to the uncertainty of Yadav votes, the BJP may also be in an advantageous position,” said Fasiuddin Khan.He added another interesting facet about Karula, a Muslim dominated neighbourhood in Moradabad. “This area normally goes for a specific candidate and if earlier trends are anything to go by, then candidates backed by this area, have always become successful. So, if Karula voters show their confidence on a candidate en masse, then that person will get a clear advantage over others,” Khan further informed.