Casteism has been played out but communalism remains a bigger draw in UP politics and major political parties in the state are beginning to realise this.
Political parties are now trying to pay the communal card in order to expand their base in the next Assembly elections. The Muslim vote bank, expectedly, is up for grabs and making a bid for it are the Samajwadi Party, Congress and the BSP.
The Samajwadi Party scored brownie points in September this year when Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav publicly criticised the Ayodhya verdict and claimed that Muslims had been cheated. This one statement won him the approval of the community that had been sulking with him after he joined hands with former BJP leader Kalyan Singh. Though Mulayam Singh Yadav had parted ways with Kalyan Singh and even apologised for aligning with him, it was his stand on the Ayodhya verdict that finally turned the tide in his favour.
The Samajwadis are now making a concerted effort to consolidate their base among Muslims and get a definite edge over the Congress that had got unexpected Muslim support during the last Lok Sabha polls in UP.
The Congress in UP, on the other hand, has lost sizeable Muslim support after some of its senior leaders hastily “welcomed” the Ayodhya verdict. The euphoria that the party had built up last year has also evaporated but the party strategists have not given up hope.
Through his controversial statements, Mr Digvijay Singh, who is also in charge of UP affairs, is trying to win back Muslim support. His trip to Sanjanpur in Azamgarh, his regular interactions with Muslim clergy and salvos fired at mentors of “Hindu terrorism” are all seen as efforts to regain lost ground among Muslims.
The BSP, meanwhile, is silently trying to consolidate Muslim votes in its favour.
The Mayawati government has unofficially deputed a senior officer to interact with Muslim clergy on a regular basis and resolve whatever problem they may be facing.
Institutions, organisations and even commercial establishments owned, wholly or partly, by the Muslim cleric are handled with kid gloves and minor aberrations are conveniently overlooked.