THIS INTERVIEW BY ZAFAR DARIK 27 FEB. 2012 Muslim votes key to BJP success in western Uttar Pradesh poll However, community is keen on seeing Mulayam Singh Yadav back in power By Ajay Jha, Chief CorrespondentPublished: 00:00 February 27, 2012Gulf News Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on emailShare on printMore Sharing Services10 Aligarh: All eyes will be on Muslim voters of western Uttar Pradesh as voting for 68 seats takes place tomorrow in the sixth of the seven-phased state legislative assembly elections in Indias most populous state. While Muslims play a key role in this region, which borders Delhi and Haryana, the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Partys hopes of regaining the state it lost power in a decade ago rest on this vote, as it tends to do better in western Uttar Pradesh. According to Upendra Sharma, a journalist-turned-hotelier, Muslims vote in order to stop the BJP from emerging victorious. The moment they come to know that Lotus [the BJPs poll symbol] is about to bloom, they vote for a party in the best position to prevent it. And they vote en bloc, said Sharma. Sharmas explanation of the mood and behaviour of the Muslim voters, however, was termed too simplistic by Khurram, an assistant professor of political science at the famous Aligarh Muslim University. Its a fallacy to say Muslims vote en bloc. Aligarh for example has Muslims in the majority, yet BJP has won this seat so many times, said Khurram. According to Khurram, while Muslims do not vote for the BJP, their votes are split between various secular parties. No party has ever got more than 50 per cent Muslim votes. And thats how the BJP wins — due to the split in Muslim votes, said Khurram. Opponents of the Congress party, which heads the ruling coalition at the centre and is making a strong bid for control of the state, are critical of its contentious promise to double the sub quota for Muslims from the existing 4.5 per cent. Even Uttar Pradesh Muslims arent impressed by the promise, leaders terming it too little to make any real impact on the community. Desirable We are not going to get swayed by the promises being made by various political parties, said Zafar Darik, a research scholar in Theology, also at Aligarh. The Muslim voters, especially the youth, want a secular government that can carry all sections of the society. Only a secular government can do development which is desirable. One issue on which the cross section of Muslims agree is that the time has come to emulate the Bihar model, where Muslims voted for BJP candidates in recognition of the development-oriented work done by the state government, in which the BJP is a junior partner. The general desire of Uttar Pradesh Muslims is to see Mulayam Singh Yadav coming back as the chief minister due to his better credentials as a secular leader with the Congress party, another secular party, as its partner in the government. Mayor faces heat Development or lack of it has become a major issue in Aligarh assembly constituency and the person to face the heat is the BJP candidate Ashutosh Varshney. The Aligarh Mayor faced a tough time while campaigning as angry voters did not let him enter certain areas with poor civic conditions. What is alarming for the BJP is that many of these areas where Varshneys entry was barred are considered BJP pockets. Varshney is locked in a fierce contest against the Samajwadi Party nominee Zafar Aalam and the Congress partys candidate Yogesh Dixit. 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