In a primary, BJP scouts for Muslim to contest UP’s Kundarki seat in bypoll | Lucknow Information

LUCKNOW: In a politically vital transfer, BJP plans to discipline a Muslim candidate within the meeting bypoll for Kundarki seat in Moradabad. The seat has fallen vacant after the election of incumbent SP MLA Zia Ur Rehman to Lok Sabha from Sambhal seat.
Sources mentioned BJP was considering fielding a senior Muslim functionary from its organisation. If finalised, this could be the primary time that BJP would discipline a Muslim in an meeting ballot in UP although its has fielded its distinguished chief Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi in Lok Sabha polls prior to now.
It was in 2009 that Naqvi final contested the Lok Sabha election. Since then, the saffron celebration has not fielded any Muslim candidate, both in Lok Sabha or in meeting polls.
Sources mentioned Muslims account for round 60% of the citizens in Kundarki, a seat which the celebration has by no means received.
A prime BJP functionary confirmed to TOI that the organisational command is in touch with a Muslim functionary of the celebration. “The state management would contemplate all points earlier than finalising his identify and sending it to the central management for ultimate approval,” the BJP neta advised TOI.
BJP’s lone Muslim candidate within the 2024 Lok Sabha elections was Abdul Salam, the previous vice-chancellor of Calicut college, from Malappuram seat in Kerala. Salam although misplaced to ET Mohammad Basheer of the Indian Union Muslim league (IUML).
In UP, the final time BJP backed a Muslim candidate was Haider Ali who was fielded from Suar meeting seat in Rampur on Apna Dal ticket, an ally, throughout the 2022 state elections. Ali misplaced to SP’s Abdullah Azam by greater than 60,000 votes.
Within the 1998 Lok Sabha elections, Naqvi had received from Rampur. He misplaced the seat in 1999 to Congress’s Begum Noor Bano. The identical 12 months Syed Shahnawaz Hussain, one other senior Muslim BJP neta, received from Kishanganj seat in Bihar and was inducted within the then Vajpayee govt. Hussain received from Bhagalpur parliamentary seat in 2006 bypoll and once more in 2009. He misplaced Bhagalpur by 10,000 votes in 2014.
Analysts mentioned BJP is attempting to border a deft technique to counter the opposition, primarily the SP-Congress mix, within the upcoming bypolls on 10 seats. BJP strategists can even attempt to blunt the opposition which is buoyed by consolidation of Muslim votes within the Lok Sabha elections.
Moreover Kundarki, bypolls are additionally due on Karhal, Katehari, Milkipur, Khair, Sisamau, Phulpur, Majahwan, Ghaziabad and Meerapur. Of the ten bypoll-bound seats, BJP had received Khair, Phulpur and Ghaziabad whereas SP had received 5 – Katehari, Karhal, Milkipur, Sisamau and Kundarki. Meerapur and Majahwan had been received by BJP allies, RLD and NISHAD celebration, respectively.
Specialists mentioned the bypolls have become a battle of status for each BJP and the SP-Congress mix whilst they begin gathering tempo for the meeting polls in 2027.