Lucknow: The number of Muslim MLAs increased in the newly-elected 403-member Uttar Pradesh Assembly. The count increased by 12.
In the 17th UP Assembly, the number of Muslim MLAs was 24 which has now increased to 36.
In terms of percentage, the newly elected Muslim MLAs account for 8.93 percent of the total 403 legislators in the state
Some of the prominent Muslim MLAs in the state are Mohd Azam Khan, his son Abdullah Azam Khan, Mukhtar Ansari’s son Abbas, and nephew Mannu.
Surprisingly, the count increased despite the fact that this time, the SP fielded a much smaller number of Muslim candidates.
Ten UP ministers fail to win their seats
Meanwhile, 10 ministers in the Yogi Adityanath government failed to win their seats in the election.
Even deputy chief minister and BJP candidate from Sirathu Keshav Prasad Maurya lost to the Samajwadi Party’s Pallavi Patel by 7,337 votes.
Other ministers who fail to retain their seats are
- Sugarcane minister Suresh Rana
- Revenue minister Chhatrapal Singh Gangwar
- Rural development minister Rajendra Pratap Singh
- Minister of state for public works Chandrika Prasad Upadhyay
- Anand Swaroop Shukla
- Sports minister Upendra Tiwari
- MoS Ranveer Singh Dhunni
- Lakhan Singh Rajput
- Basic education minister Satish Chandra Dwivedi.
Did Muslims vote for BJP in UP elections?
RSS-affiliate Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM) claimed that BJP managed to secure more than eight percent of Muslim votes in UP elections.
Hailing the victory of saffron party in UP, MRM said that people of the state rejected the “negative politics” of the opposition parties and reposed their faith in “Modi-Yogi style of governance”.
Earlier, MRM activists had carried out door-to-door in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarkhand. It had campaigned for BJP in four states.
Asaduddin Owaisi’s reaction
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi who had fielded 100 candidates in UP assembly polls said that he respects the decision of the public.
Rejecting the claims made by some political leaders, Owaisi said that the outcome of the result is not due to EVM’s fault. The party will continue to work in UP, he added.
Stating that their spirits remained high, AIMIM supremo said the party would also contest Assembly elections in Gujarat, Rajasthan and other states.