Former Union Civil Aviation Minister Chand Mahal Ibrahim is in UP in an attempt to bring together dissenting factions among Muslims.
LUCKNOW: Former Union Civil Aviation Minister Chand Mahal Ibrahim has taken off on a new mission in Uttar Pradesh. He is out to cobble together an alliance which would bring about unity among Muslims before the next Vidhan Sabha elections in UP.
“We want to bring the Muslims together under one banner… our target is to couple this strength along with Dalits, backward castes and the poor among the upper castes,” Ibrahim told DNA before taking off for Delhi on Sunday. Ibrahim was here at the instance of Maulana Bukhari, Imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid, who declared the formation of the UP United Democratic Front on June 10.
During his two-day stay here, Ibrahim met several Muslim leaders and clerics besides backward caste and Dalit leaders and representatives of Sikh, Christian and Buddhist organisations.
Interestingly, Ibrahim also called on retired IAS officer PL Punia, once a trusted advisor of Bahujan Samaj Party president Mayawati.
His most important rendezvous was with renowned Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawwad, who has a formidable following among the Sunnis, too. Jawwad recently floated the People’s Democratic Front after his talks with Bukhari for a common political front broke down.
“It’s a good beginning,” says Zafaryab Jilani, member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB). “We realise that minorities can get their due only when they unite and seize political power instead of getting swayed by various political outfits when the elections come,” said Jilani after a meeting with Ibrahim.
Ibrahim has his mission clearly cut out — to bring about unity among the factious Muslim tanzeems (organisations) in Uttar Pradesh and to prevent division of the minority vote in the next election. He seemed confident of having achieved an important task as he said: “I am here for conciliation not confrontation… Maulana Jawwad has assured me that there is no misunderstanding and that we would work together under one banner.”
Bukhari’s UPUDF is patterned on the lines of a similar political outfit, United Democratic Front (UDF) floated by Assam’s millionaire Maulana Badruddin Ajmal. The UDF won 10 seats in the recent Assam elections.
Though the UPUDF is not linked with the Assam UDF yet, Ibrahim’s ploy is to get recognition from EC if the new outfit corners ample votes in the UP election. He is already working on his moves. He says the UPUDF has already identified about 115 Assembly seats of Uttar Pradesh where the Muslim population is between 30 and 40 per cent. “If we win even half of these seats, we would hold the key to government formation in UP,” he asserts.
Significantly, Ibrahim is assured of support from VP Singh’s Jan Morcha too. The UPUDF would soon begin its campaign to “awaken the self-esteem” of the minorities. “We want them to realise that they have made Mulayam and Mayawati win so many times but what did they get? Now it’s time for them to take the reins of power in their own hands,” he says.
But that is easier said than done. Ibrahim’s take-off may be smooth but the air pockets in UP politics could make his electoral flight bumpy.
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