The electoral battle in politically significant Deoband Assembly seat in Uttar Pradesh has intensified with Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) entering the fray and eyeing Muslim votes in the constituency.

While the AIMIM and Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party are vying for Muslim votes here, the BJP is confident of its candidate and sitting MLA Kunwar Brijesh Singh’s victory.

AIMIM candidate Umair Masoodi hails from the prominent Masoodi family of Deoband. His father, Masood Madani, is a political figure in the area who had enjoyed ministerial position in the Uttarakhand government. His association with Mahmood Madani of the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind and Arshad Madani, who is principal seminary of Darul Uloom, is not lost on anyone despite claims that both families have severed ties.

The Samajwadi Party, which has seemingly enjoyed monopoly over the Muslim votes so far, has withdrawn Maviya Ali in the constituency and instead fielded Kartikey Rana, a Rajput.

Of the approximately 3 lakh voters in Deoband constituency, around 1.2 lakh are estimated to be Muslims.

But Kartikey Rana dismisses AIMIM as a factor, calling it the “B-Team” of the BJP. “No one takes AIMIM seriously as everyone knows it is the B-Team of the BJP,” says the SP candidate when asked about possible division of Muslim votes.

However, the candidates in fray are not the only ones eyeing support from Muslim voters. Maviya Ali, who had submitted his nomination as an SP candidate, still reflects on Election Commission’s website as the party candidate. His nomination is yet to be accepted, but Ali, too, holds sway over the community’s votes, having been an MLA once from the seat.

Ali’s son Haider Ali has filed his candidature as Independent candidate.

Speaking to News18.com, a senior SP leader said: “As party has decided on Rana, Maviya Ali will have to withdraw his nomination. In that case, he will work for his son’s election campaign and that can further dent the consolidation of Muslim votes.”

Apart from these well-known faces, there are minor players, too, like Rahat Khalil who is contesting on Congress ticket, Jaheer from Jansatta Party and Naushad from Samyukt Vikas Party.

Subtle Messaging

Deoband Assembly constituency, the seat of top Islamic seminary of Darul Uloom, has been at the centre of high-pitched battle between the ruling BJP and opposition parties ever since Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath laid the foundation of the Anti-Terrorism Squad here.

The Opposition sees the move as an attempt to polarise the electorate and has been cautious in not making any negative comments about the ATS centre establishment. Rather, the Opposition has welcomed the centre in unison, with some leaders even claiming their ancestors stood against the Muslim League during Partition.

Amit Shah’s Door-to-Door in Deoband

Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s has been holding door-to-door campaign for the party’s candidate in Deoband as it is seen as holding a significant spot in BJP’s strategy on political messaging. Shah has clubbed his tour of Muzzafanagar with that of Deoband and Saharanpur constituencies.

The region, considered to have kept its social fabric intact for years, changed after the 2013 Muzzafarnagar riots and the BJP made favourable gains in the 2017 Assembly elections.

U-Turn on Jinnah

The seat has significant number of Dalits followed by Rajputs, and with intense fight to corner Muslim votes, Opposition parties are struggling hard to avoid any statement or action that can polarise the constituency.

Ask SP leaders about Akhilesh Yadav’s praise for Mohammad Ali Jinnah and they blame the BJP for polarising the elections.

“Jinnah hamara dushman hai (Jinnah is our enemy). He divided the nation. And those talking about Jinnah are of his ideology. All of you heard half of the statement,” snaps SP leader Imran Masood.

Still projecting himself as SP candidate, Maviya Ali says: “Those who prop up Jinnah debate, go there (Pakistan) and eat biryani. Till today, not a single non-BJP PM has gone and eaten biryani in Pakistan.”

Masood Madani, father of AIMIM candidate, says: “We stood with Gandhiji and Hindu bhai and stood against Muslim league.”

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