Lucknow:
With bypolls to eight seats just round the corner there is no better time than the holy month of Ramzan to pull the Muslim vote.
Despite a fatwa issued by Darul-ul-Deoband in August terming Iftaar parties as un-Islamic because the money spent on them is illegal, mainstream political parties continue to organise Iftaars and are fighting it out for who is able to attract the maximum Muslim leaders. After all, the 18 per cent Muslim vote in UP is a key game changer.
Almost all major political parties in Uttar Pradesh indulge in Iftaar politics. But perhaps no one understands it better than Samajwadi Party chief, Mulayam Singh Yadav who says, "People of all religions are our brothers".
But this year prominent Muslim faces are missing even from Mulayam's Iftaar parties. Kalbe Jawwad a member of AIMPLB says, "The Iftaar party generally becomes a show of strength, which is the prime motive behind organising such an event."
Over the years, the Maulanas seem to have become politically smart preferring to align themselves only with the party in power. So, this year all fatwas issued by the Deoband seminary have been set aside to make it to this party hosted by Naseemuddin Siddiqui, BSP's Muslim face.
The tradition of Iftaar parties was started by the Congress party in the early seventies led by Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna. What may have started out as a serious attempt to create peace between two warring Muslim communities has over the years evolved into an occasion for calculating gains - political or otherwise.
Despite a fatwa issued by Darul-ul-Deoband in August terming Iftaar parties as un-Islamic because the money spent on them is illegal, mainstream political parties continue to organise Iftaars and are fighting it out for who is able to attract the maximum Muslim leaders. After all, the 18 per cent Muslim vote in UP is a key game changer.
Almost all major political parties in Uttar Pradesh indulge in Iftaar politics. But perhaps no one understands it better than Samajwadi Party chief, Mulayam Singh Yadav who says, "People of all religions are our brothers".
But this year prominent Muslim faces are missing even from Mulayam's Iftaar parties. Kalbe Jawwad a member of AIMPLB says, "The Iftaar party generally becomes a show of strength, which is the prime motive behind organising such an event."
Over the years, the Maulanas seem to have become politically smart preferring to align themselves only with the party in power. So, this year all fatwas issued by the Deoband seminary have been set aside to make it to this party hosted by Naseemuddin Siddiqui, BSP's Muslim face.
The tradition of Iftaar parties was started by the Congress party in the early seventies led by Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna. What may have started out as a serious attempt to create peace between two warring Muslim communities has over the years evolved into an occasion for calculating gains - political or otherwise.
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