SP-BSP in booklet war to woo Muslim votes in UP

The ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) and its arch-rival Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) are embroiled in a “booklet war” to woo the Muslim community in Uttar Pradesh where the Assembly elections are scheduled to be held early next year.

The parties have come out with booklets containing the list of works they have completed  and would be doing for the Muslims – who constitute around 18% of the total electorate – if voted to power.

The BSP was the first to come out with a booklet running into eight pages. The booklet contained measures initiated by its supremo Mayawati for the community during her successive regimes. It also accused the SP of “betraying” the community and using it only for electoral gains.

The SP’s book on the other hand claimed that the Akhilesh Yadav government has taken a number of measures for the welfare of the Muslims. The booklet has listed the release of the Muslim youths, who had been languishing in jails on “trumped-up” terror charges, financial assistance to the community members for education and ensuring their participation in various government sponsored schemes.

Incidentally, the booklets published by the parties are in Urdu to make it easier for the community members to read.

According to the sources in the SP, the party’s booklets was being made available to the community through mosques, dargahs and Islamic seminaries.  “We have roped in Muslim clerics and teachers for distributing the booklet to the community,” said a senior SP leader here. Interestingly, the BSP and SP have accused each other of having a tacit understanding with the BJP.

“The Muslims will be wasting their votes if they support the SP as the latter has an understanding with the BJP,” Mayawati had said recently.

The SP on the other hand cited the possibility of a BSP-BJP coalition government in the state to buttress its contention that the former could not be trusted.

“The BSP may join hands with the BJP after the polls,” said SP leader Rajendra Chaudhary.

The Congress, too, was trying to woo the community through meetings addressed by their Muslim leaders, including Ghulam Nabi Azad.