In a historic political development, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is preparing to nominate a Muslim candidate for the Kundarki assembly bypoll in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh. This follows the vacancy created by the election of Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA Zia Ur Rehman to the Lok Sabha from Sambhal. According to a report by the Times of India (TOI), this will be the BJP’s first instance of fielding a Muslim candidate in a UP assembly election, although the party has previously supported notable leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi in Lok Sabha elections.
Historic Move for the BJP
TOI sources revealed that the BJP is contemplating nominating a senior Muslim functionary for the Kundarki seat, where Muslims make up approximately 60% of the electorate. Historically, the BJP has not secured a victory in this constituency.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP’s sole Muslim candidate, Abdul Salam, contested from Malappuram, Kerala, but was defeated by IUML’s ET Mohammad Basheer. In Uttar Pradesh, the last Muslim candidate backed by the BJP was Haider Ali, who ran for the Suar seat in the 2022 state elections but lost to SP’s Abdullah Azam.
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The BJP’s history with Muslim candidates includes Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi’s Lok Sabha victories in 1998 and Syed Shahnawaz Hussain’s wins in Bihar’s Kishanganj and Bhagalpur constituencies.
Candidate Selection Under Consideration
A senior BJP official confirmed that the party’s state leadership is currently in discussions to finalize the candidate for the Kundarki seat. Once selected, the candidate’s name will be forwarded to the central leadership for approval.
Political analysts interpret this move as the BJP’s strategy to counter opposition consolidation, particularly the SP-Congress alliance, in the upcoming bypolls. The BJP aims to mitigate the opposition’s advantage, bolstered by the consolidation of Muslim votes in the recent Lok Sabha elections.
Bypolls in Uttar Pradesh
Alongside Kundarki, bypolls are also scheduled for Karhal, Katehari, Milkipur, Khair, Sisamau, Phulpur, Majahwan, Ghaziabad, and Meerapur. Of these ten bypoll-bound seats, the BJP previously secured victories in Khair, Phulpur, and Ghaziabad, while the SP won Katehari, Karhal, Milkipur, Sisamau, and Kundarki. The remaining seats, Meerapur and Majahwan, were won by BJP allies, the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and the NISHAD party, respectively.
Experts cited by TOI suggest that these bypolls have become a matter of prestige for both the BJP and the SP-Congress coalition, as they build momentum for the assembly elections in 2027.
