Lucknow:
Wooing the voters in Uttar Pradesh might have started months ago but it's only now that campaigning has begun in the state, in right earnest. After dates for the seven-phased polls in the politically-sensitive state were announced last week, Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi was back on the campaign trail today in the backward and Dalit-dominated constituencies in the state. But curiously enough, the mention of the controversial Muslim quota was conspicuously missing in the young leader's agenda.
The party played a masterstroke last week when the Union Cabinet cleared a 4.5% quota for Muslims under the 27% reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in government jobs and educational institutions, timed perfectly before the announcement of the polls when the model code of conduct comes into effect. With Muslims constituting a sizeable chunk of the votebank in UP - 18 % of which 10-12% belonging to the backward group - the Congress's quota move is definitively aimed at securing the support of the community as the party tries to revive its lost charm in the state.
But Rahul Gandhi, who is leading the party's revival campaign in the state, realises that the quota sop is a gamble that could boomerang with Dalits and the backward castes.
Hence, he limited his poll speech to slamming Mayawati and Mulayam Singh Yadav for neglecting the people at an election meeting in Sitapur,
Has Mayawati come to your house to drink water?...Mulayam has changed", said the Gandhi scion.
Even as the Congress tries to wrest control of the crucial Muslim vote from the Samajwadi Party, many in the community are not happy. Backward Muslims from the Mansoori community feel that they will end up with a raw deal. Their grouse - most of the Congress largesse has been lavished on the predominantly weaver community of Ansaris. Under the influence of Mr Gandhi, the Centre sanctioned a major financial package for weavers in and around Varanasi and Bhadhoi. 3000 crores will be released directly to offer low-interest loans and other financial assistance to weavers.
"Everything has gone to the Ansaris, the weavers. Because those are the only backward Muslims Rahul Gandhi can see. There are 35 more communities that are a part of Muslim backwards, what about them?" asks Anis Mansoori, President of the Mansoori Samaj.
Ilyas Mansoori echoes that sentiment of deceit and dejection.
"Why should I vote for someone who talks about giving only 4.5 per cent quota? I will vote for Mulayam Singh Yadav who is advocating for 18 per cent quota."
Mr Yadav, the Samajwadi Party chief, has already dubbed the minority quota as betrayal of the Muslims and has demanded that the entire population of the community in UP be made beneficiaries of the quota. As someone who has traditionally enjoyed the support of the Muslims, the SP supremo would be hoping that the Congress' quota plan backfires. Many are already crying foul over the minority quota eating into the existing larger quota for the backwards and would prefer Mulayam over Rahul Gandhi.
"Why should we vote for him (Rahul)? He has given someone out of our share of the quota," says Luv Kush Yadav, a farmer.
Cracking the social arithmetic in the country's most populous state has forever remained a challenge for political parties. With the Congress desperately hoping to gain ground in UP, its quota move could well face a backward backlash, something that be a blessing in disguise for its opponents.
The party played a masterstroke last week when the Union Cabinet cleared a 4.5% quota for Muslims under the 27% reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in government jobs and educational institutions, timed perfectly before the announcement of the polls when the model code of conduct comes into effect. With Muslims constituting a sizeable chunk of the votebank in UP - 18 % of which 10-12% belonging to the backward group - the Congress's quota move is definitively aimed at securing the support of the community as the party tries to revive its lost charm in the state.
But Rahul Gandhi, who is leading the party's revival campaign in the state, realises that the quota sop is a gamble that could boomerang with Dalits and the backward castes.
Hence, he limited his poll speech to slamming Mayawati and Mulayam Singh Yadav for neglecting the people at an election meeting in Sitapur,
Has Mayawati come to your house to drink water?...Mulayam has changed", said the Gandhi scion.
Even as the Congress tries to wrest control of the crucial Muslim vote from the Samajwadi Party, many in the community are not happy. Backward Muslims from the Mansoori community feel that they will end up with a raw deal. Their grouse - most of the Congress largesse has been lavished on the predominantly weaver community of Ansaris. Under the influence of Mr Gandhi, the Centre sanctioned a major financial package for weavers in and around Varanasi and Bhadhoi. 3000 crores will be released directly to offer low-interest loans and other financial assistance to weavers.
"Everything has gone to the Ansaris, the weavers. Because those are the only backward Muslims Rahul Gandhi can see. There are 35 more communities that are a part of Muslim backwards, what about them?" asks Anis Mansoori, President of the Mansoori Samaj.
Ilyas Mansoori echoes that sentiment of deceit and dejection.
"Why should I vote for someone who talks about giving only 4.5 per cent quota? I will vote for Mulayam Singh Yadav who is advocating for 18 per cent quota."
Mr Yadav, the Samajwadi Party chief, has already dubbed the minority quota as betrayal of the Muslims and has demanded that the entire population of the community in UP be made beneficiaries of the quota. As someone who has traditionally enjoyed the support of the Muslims, the SP supremo would be hoping that the Congress' quota plan backfires. Many are already crying foul over the minority quota eating into the existing larger quota for the backwards and would prefer Mulayam over Rahul Gandhi.
"Why should we vote for him (Rahul)? He has given someone out of our share of the quota," says Luv Kush Yadav, a farmer.
Cracking the social arithmetic in the country's most populous state has forever remained a challenge for political parties. With the Congress desperately hoping to gain ground in UP, its quota move could well face a backward backlash, something that be a blessing in disguise for its opponents.
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