The Hindu : National : Kalyan factor will not erode Muslim vote-bank: Mulayam

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Kalyan factor will not erode Muslim vote-bank: Mulayam

Atiq Khan

“Mandir-Masjid issue will not fetch votes… people want development”

— Photo: Subir Roy

Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh at the press conference in Lucknow on Monday.

LUCKNOW: With the ‘Kalyan Singh factor’ threatening to erode the Muslim support base of the Samajwadi Party, its president Mulayam Singh on Monday tried to strike an emotional chord with the minority community by saying that he would not hesitate to take the assistance of any leader who wanted to weaken the Bharatiya Janata Party. That way, the former BJP leader fitted in his design to demolish the communal forces, Mr. Singh said.

At a press conference here, he said the Kalyan Singh issue would not cause a dent in the Muslim vote-bank of the Samajwadi Party. “Today it is Kalyan Singh, tomorrow if any other BJP leader is unhappy with the saffron party, he would be welcomed into the Samajwadi fold,” he said.

Stating that the Samajwadi Party was committed to wiping out communal and divisive forces in the State, Mr. Mulayam Singh said he would take the help of like-minded people to prevent L.K. Advani or Narendra Modi from becoming the next Prime Minister.

The SP chief blamed the RSS and the BJP for the communal riots in the country and trying to divide the people along religious lines.

Defending his ‘friendship’ with the former BJP vice-president in the face of strong opposition from some senior and influential Samajwadi Muslim leaders and MPs, the SP president said his alliance with Mr. Kalyan Singh would give a fillip to the struggle of weaker sections. He said the Mandir-Masjid issue had outlived its utility and would not fetch votes, instead the people would vote for development and prosperity.

Ever since his understanding with the former BJP leader, who has been blamed for the demolition of the Babri mosque on December 6, 1992, the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister has faced the flak from senior Muslim leaders of the party, most notably from Mohammad Azam Khan, often dubbed the ‘Muslim face’ of the SP.

Mr. Khan has been quite vocal in his opposition to the alliance and on Saturday issued a signed press statement from Rampur reiterating his stand on the issue. He said the Muslims can never forget the demolition and forgive the leader responsible for the incident, who was jailed for it.

Other Muslim SP leaders reportedly opposed to the Mulayam-Kalyan friendship included the Moradabad MP Shafiqur Rehman Barq; the Budaun MP Saleem Sherwani; and the MP from Meerut, Haji Shahid Akhlaque. With the Haji expressing his desire to join the Bahujan Samaj Party, reports have indicated that Mr. Barq and Mr. Sherwani were also weighing the BSP option.

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