BSP eyes Muslim outreach in U.P. with its first list for mayoral tickets
The HinduThe Bahujan Samaj Party’s first list of candidates announced for Mayor seats in urban local bodies across Uttar Pradesh signalled its focus on forming a Muslim-Scheduled Caste alliance in the State. The first list of 10 mayoral candidates released on Monday includes six Muslim faces, with the Dalit-centric party allocating its symbol to Muslim candidates in unreserved seats like Mathura, Prayagraj and Moradabad. Even for Reserved seats like Lucknow, or Firozabad, which is reserved for Other Backward Classes, the BSP nominated Muslim women candidates, making it clear that it aims for a broader Dalit-Muslim outreach. The BSP has nominated Raja Mohtasim Ahmed in Mathura; Rukhsana Begum in Firozabad; Khadija Masood in Saharanpur; Shahin Bano from Lucknow; Sayeed Ahmed in Prayagraj; Mohammad Yameen in Moradabad; Lata from the Scheduled Caste reserved seat of Agra; Bhagwan Das Phule in Jhansi ; Subhash Chandra Majhi in Varanasi; and Naval Kishore Nathani in Gorakhpur.