Why Mulayam’s political antics give Muslims the jitters

Lucknow: A former wrestler, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav’s knows a thing or two about putting rivals on the mat. Over the years, he has perfected the art of the political dav-pech, tricks so crucial to his favourite game, to a fix his opponents and flummox others with ease. However, the man, known to be politically canny, may have gone too far with his tricks this time. His threats to pull down the UPA government and force an early general election has not gone down well with his loyal vote bank, the Muslims. The community is also unhappy at his open praise of the NDA government and senior BJP leader LK Advani, the man behind the Ram Janmabhumi movement which led to the demolition of the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya in 1992. [caption id=“attachment_679069” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Mulayam Singh Yadav appears to be a desperate leader because it’s a now or never situation for his political ambitions. PTI[/caption] “Mulayam is not a messiah of Muslims. He has always used the community for votes. He remembers Muslims during the elections but when he comes to rule for five years he does not even think of the community,” avers MM Yasoob Abbas, the spokesperson of All India Shia Personal Law Board. According to Abbas, Mulayam is blackmailing the UPA after the DMK leader M Karunanidhi decided to withdraw from the alliance. “But why does he not use this opportunity to get something for the Muslims from the central government? If he does so then the Muslims might think helping him in the 2014 elections,” he says. The minority community holds a special significance for the Samajwadi Party and Mulayam is aware that he would be nowhere in central politics without the backing of the Muslims. What has been particularly worrying him is the spate of communal riots in Uttar Pradesh since the SP government headed by son Akhilesh took over charge. The majority of those who died during these violent incidents are from the community. Although he has been continuously meeting Muslim leaders — even on the festival of Holi the party made it a point to issue a release for the media with names of a few Muslim leaders who called on Mulayam. Obviously his efforts have not been enough and the SP chief realises it. To make the matters worse, his praise of Advani seems not to have gone the way he had calculated. His plan is to keep both the Congress and the BJP off his turf and all his recent noises against the UPA government and for Advani are part of a gameplan, say political observers. Political analyst and senior journalist Zaheer Mustafa explains, “In the assembly elections Muslim voted en bloc for SP and the result was that the party got a clear mandate. Mulayam does not want to share this crucial vote bank with the Congress and therefore he is open and loud against it.” However, he says, Mulayam’s comment on Advani has been deciphered in a different way by the Muslims. “By praising Advani, Mulayam is trying to give a message to Muslims that in case the BJP forms the government it would not be Narendra Modi but LK Advani, who would head the nation. If given no other choice Muslims can tolerate Advani but the community will never accept Modi,” said Mustafa, adding the statement assumes importance in the context of political strategy for the coming elections. The SP leader is trying to make the Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) irrelevant in Uttar Pradesh so that the it becomes a direct fight between the SP and the BJP. In such a situation, if Hindu votes get polarised in favour of the BJP thanks to Narendra Modi, the Muslim votes would go to the SP, observed one analyst. At another level, Mulayam Singh Yadav appears to be a desperate leader because it’s a now or never situation for his political ambitions. Singing paeans on Lal Krishna Advani’s character, lauding the Gujarat model of development and appreciating the leadership and governance of Atal Behari Vajpayee are clear signs of his desperation, the analyst added. “The problem with Mulayam is that he is a socialist and the socialists get euphoric when they achieve something. The absolute majority in the state has made Mulayam euphoric and in this euphoria he has taken the Muslims for granted. He is repeating the same mistake he committed in 2009 parliament elections. At that time he embraced Kalyan Singh and fielded 11 Muslims. None of his Muslim candidate won and today he has no Muslim MP in Lok Sabha,” says political analyst Surendra Rajput. According to Rajput, a move has already begun in this direction. Maulana Ahmad Bukhari has already deserted Mulayam. Now Bukhari is planning to hold a Muslim convention against SP. The convention is on 24 April in Etawah, which is Mulayam’s pocket burrow. The organisation Rihai Manch is already criticising the government for not keeping its promise of releasing the innocent Muslims who were arrested on terrorism charges. There is unrest in Muslims on the issue. “By distributing laptops to a few, SP should not start expecting any change. Go and look at the condition of Muslim boys in the state or anywhere in the country. They are directionless and the community is leaderless. The moment a leader emerges in the community the political parties snub that leader. This is done because it suits the politicians,” says Yasoob Abbas. He feels Mulayam is no different as he also had been using Muslims as a vote bank. “But this time the public will not forgive him if he is causes an early elections for his own interests,” says Yasoob Abbas. It’s time Mulayam borrowed new tricks from his favourite game. The political akhada is changing.