Struggling to keep it’s house in order for some time now, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) received a shot in the arm when four sitting Muslim MlAs, three from the Congress and one of the ruling SP joined the party in lucknow on Wednesday afternoon.
Though all the MlAs had come out in open support of the BSP during the recent polls for Rajya Sabha, but their entry into the party has now boosted its prospect particularly in wooing the Minorities ahead of the 2017 Assembly polls.
The MlAs who joined the BSP are Nawab Kazim Ali Khan from Swar seat (Rampur), Dr Muslim from Tiloi seat (Amethi) and Dilnawaz Khan from Sayana seat (Bulandshahr) of the Congress and SP MlA from Burahana seat (Muzaffarnagar) Nawazish Alam Khan.
Besides, three former BJP MlAs and former minister Awadhesh Kumar Verma of Shahjehanpur also joined the party in the presence of senior leaders including leader of the Opposition in legislative Council Nasimuddin Siddique and leader of the Opposition in Assembly Gaya Charan Dinker.
Their joining the BSP brought some relief tothe party brass (readMayawati) who has been under duress due to the recent leaving of senior leaders Swami Prasad Maurya and RK Chaudhary. While Maurya has already joined the BJP, Chaudhary is keeping his cards close to his chest, but both are set to eat into a sizeable chunk of votes from their respective communities adversely shrinking the BSP’s poll share.
Talking to reporters soon after joining the BSP, the MlAs said that Mayawati is the only leader who could improve law and order in the state and protect the life and property of the Minorities. All three Congress MlAs had been expelled by the party for crossvoting in the Rajya Sabha and legislative Council polls in June. Besides, SP MlA Nawazish Alam too was suspended by his party for cross voting.
Commenting on the joining of the MlAs, BSP leader Nasimuddin Siddiqui said the leaders joined the party after being taken in by the ideology of Mayawati. He said that during elections, some leaders desert a party and join another.
Nawab Kazim Ali Khan, son of senior Congress leader Begun Noor Bano of Rampur said that the Congress cannot fight the communal forces and it has been termed as a ‘B team’ of the ruling Samajwadi Party.
“There is a tacit understanding between the Congress and the SP. When we faced atrocities during the SP regime, none from the Congress came forward in our support. It’s only during Council polls we got orders from the high command to vote for the SP. This is unacceptable,” said Khan.
A sworn rival of SP leader Mohammad Azam Khan, Nawab Kazim Ali Khan claimed that only the BSP can ensure security to the Muslims in UP. Congress might be trying hard but unfortunately poll strategist Prashant Kishor and others cannot ensure a win for the beleagured partyin UP.
Kazim Ali has had a love hate relationship with the BSP. The four time legislator was elected as MlA for the first time in 1996 on a Congress ticket and again in 2002. But in 2006, he joined the BSP and was elected in 2007 and also became a minister in the Mayawati government. However, he left the BSP in 2011 and rejoined the Congress and got elected in the 2012 polls.
Two time MlA, Dr Muslim criticised the Congress particularly the Gandhi family saying that the family has been misguided by state leaders and Congress has lost its mass support.
“Mayawati is the only leader who takes care of the poor while the Congress is engaged in promoting the leaders,” Dr Muslim said. He was first elected in 1996 on a SP ticket but lost two subsequent polls as Congress candidate before winning the 2012 elections on a Congress ticket.
Similarly, Dilnawaz Khan, a first time Congress MlA from Sayana (Bulandshahr) said that he joined the BSP responding to the call of his conscience.” There is nothing left in Congress in UP and it would not survive in the present scenario,” he claimed.
SP MlA from Burhana seat (Muzaffarnagar) Nawazish Alam Khan said that the ruling party has lost control over governance and hence he was forced to join the BSP. He further said more MlAs from SP were likely to jon the BSP in coming days indicating the resurgence of Mayawati as the tallest leader of the state.