Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh met senior Congress leader Ammar Rizvi at the latter’s residence and solicited his support for the Lok Sabha election in Lucknow, which goes to polls on May 6.
Both leaders were closeted for around 30 minutes during which prominent Shia cleric Agha Ruhi was also present.
Bharatiya Janata Party’s senior leader Pushkar Shukla said that All-India Minorities Forum headed by Ammar Rizvi had issued an appeal asking Muslim voters to vote for and support Rajnath Singh.
“Rizvi invited Rajnath Singh to his residence and there he said that his forum had issued a resolution in favour of Rajnath Singh in its meeting on March 24,” Shukla said and added that a copy of the letter was given to BJP city president Mukesh Sharma.
Singh is seeking re-election from Lucknow, the parliamentary constituency he won in 2014 by defeating Congress candidate Rita Bahuguna Joshi. Joshi later switched over to the BJP and is now a minister in Yogi Adityanath Cabinet.
The meeting assumes importance because recently Rizvi quit all posts in Congress and there were speculations that he may join the BJP.
Meanwhile, Rajnath Singh was forced to cut short his visit and leave for New Delhi on Friday evening. Earlier, he was scheduled to return to Delhi on Saturday noon.
On Friday, Singh attended a Holi Milan function organised by Awasi Jan Kalyan Samiti at Bal Sanghralaya in Charbagh. In his address, the Union Home Minister spoke about the achievement of the National Democratic Alliance government and how it worked to improve national security and make India an economic power.
“In the last five years, the face of Lucknow has changed. You people must have realised how new roads have come up, pending projects have been completed and work on Outer Ring Road started. The Gomti Nagar railway station will be made world class and two STPs (sewage treatment plants) have been set up,” Singh told the gathering and appealed to them to vote for the BJP in the election.