Team SP-Congress and BJP united in thought, at least in this UP seat
Imran Masood, Congress-SP alliance nominee, who had hit the headlines for aggressive postures in the past is running a low-key campaign focussing mainly on villages dominated by Hindus.
Masood is a nephew of nine-term MP (five-time Lok Sabha and four-term Rajya Sabha member) Rashid Masood, who had enjoyed support of different castes of the Hindu community during his long political career. Masood is now exploring chances to revive the old support base of his uncle among non-Muslims. His camp is also avoiding organising big rallies or public meetings. «Drawing Muslims in big numbers at political rallies or public meetings may lead to polarisation in other communities,» a supporter said.
BJP has fielded Raghav Lakhanpal Sharma, who had lost from the same constituency in 2019. The party this time sees little chances for polarisation of Muslim votes in favour of Masood because of the presence of BSP's Majid Ali in the fray. Sharma will easily win if either BSP nominee or SP-Congress candidate bagged more than 250,000 votes, a BJP supporter said.
BJP's Sharma seems to be in an advantageous position because of his party's strategy to consolidate OBC votes, after taking a lesson from his defeat in 2019. While prominent BJP faces are camping in Saharanpur to woo voters of Saini, Kashyap and Gujjar communities, the candidate ensures to touch at least 6-7 villages dominated by SC voters every day. «SC voters matter to us. They are a decisive factor in polls. We hope to mobilise them in our favour,» BJP leader Mahipal
