Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections 2017: Imam Bukhari asks Muslims to vote against Samajwadi Party

Lucknow: Imam Bukhari, the Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid in Delhi, on Thursday appealed to his followers in the community to vote against the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) in Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, beginning February 11.

Addressing a press conference here, Bukhari said he would expect the Muslim community to vote for the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

He said the BSP had always maintained law and order in the state and fulfilled its promises towards the community. 

Blaming the Akhilesh Yadav-led SP government for the troubles and insecurity among Muslims in the state, Bukhari also accused the Samajwadi Party of going back on its 2012 electoral promise of reservations for Muslims.

"I had met both Mulayam Singh Yadav and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav over the issue but they did not pay heed to our demands," he said. 

"Mulayam told Akhilesh to look into the matter but he did not listen," Bukhari added. 

Taking a dig at the strained relations between the father and the son, Bukhari asked how can a person do justice to the state when he had humiliated his own father. 

The development comes in stark contrast to 2012, when just before the elections to the state assembly, Bukhari along with Mulayam Singh Yadav had held a joint presser in a five-star hotel in Lucknow, wherein the Jama Masjid Imam had thrown his lot behind the SP and had asked Muslims to vote en masse for the SP.