For over a fortnight now, as leaders representing the single biggest group of Muslims in Varanasi—weavers—met regularly to prevent a split in the community’s vote, a top Muslim religious leader has made it clear that the primary aim will be to defeat the BJP.

Mufti Abdul Batil Nomani, Mufti of Varanasi, told The Indian Express: “Development should be the main issue but no one has shown any commitment towards that. For now, the main task would be to make sure that the BJP does not come to power in the state.”

In other words, it means supporting the SP. With important urban centres of Varanasi and Allahabad going to the polls on Thursday and Gorakhpur on May 8, community leaders believe they have an added responsibility to keep the community’s votes united. In their opinion, they could not prevent the BJP from making gains in the first three phases.

A top BJP leader said the party appeared to have gained from the absence of vote consolidation against it as initial opinion polls indicated that the BJP would do poorly and Muslims believed the party was no longer a threat. This is a point that Muslim leaders concede has led the BJP to take important strides in areas that were not its strongholds.

But the Muslims themselves could be fighting polarisation, as is evident in Varanasi where the SP has fielded Haji Abdul Samad Ansari from Varanasi North, a constituency that is known to back Muslim candidates. Rabiya Kalam, who had been SP sitting MP, was not given the party ticket this time. She has decided to contest as an Independent. Her candidature, apart from splitting the community vote, has caused another division between Ansaris and non-Ansaris. Kalam is not an Ansari.

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