UP to witness mini Assembly poll after Lok Sabha elections
Uttar Pradesh is set for a mini assembly election after the Lok Sabha polls are over as around 15 legislators are contesting the parliamentary elections.
The All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) led by Hyderabad MP Asauddin Owaisi threatened to throw its hat in the electoral fray in Uttar Pradesh.
The AIMIM has identified seven Muslim-dominated Lok Sabha constituencies in UP, including Azamgarh from where Samajwadi Party (SP) President Akhilesh Yadav is expected to contest the polls.
AIMIM Spokesman Asim Waqar said here on Thursday that the party could contest seven seats in the state. Accusing the Opposition INDIA bloc party of step-motherly treatment to Muslims, he said if there was no alliance, the party would certainly contest the Lok Sabha elections in UP.
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The seats identified by the Owaisi party in the state include Badaun, where the SP has already announced the name of Shivpal Singh Yadav as a candidate, and Firozabad, where Prof. Ram Gopal Yadav’s son is contesting as an SP candidate.
The other seats identified by the AIMIM for contesting are Sambhal, Moradabad, Amroha, and Meerut.
Going by the statistics, Muslims constitute 19.3 per cent (3.84 crore) of the total population of UP. They have a strong presence in Western Uttar Pradesh, Rohilkhand, and some areas of Eastern Uttar Pradesh. There are 21 Lok Sabha seats in the state with more than 30 per cent Muslim population.
The Muslim-dominated seats in UP include Saharanpur, Meerut, Kairana, Bijnor, Amroha, Moradabad, Rampur, Sambhal, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Ghosi and Ghazipur. It is believed that if the AIMIM contests the elections from the state, it can have a direct impact on these seats.
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