Deedarganj: As the 7th and final phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections scheduled on March 7 draws near, the Deedarganj assembly seat in Azamgarh district is the center of attraction for psephologists.
The assembly seat which is going to the polls along with nine others has the highest number of Muslim voters estimated at about 85.1 million, Dalit voters 80,000, Yadav 43,000, and Rajbhar voters about 45,000.
The only Muslim candidate from the seat is Huzaifa Amir Rashadi, secretary of Aligarh Muslim University and son of Maulana Amir Rashadi of the Rashtriya Ulema Council.
The assembly seat holds an added significance from the Muslims' perspective after the Samajwadi Party denied the ticket to former MLA Adil Sheikh and selected Kamla Kant Rajbhar, son of former Assembly Speaker and current Member of Assembly Sukhdev Rajbhar as its candidate causing anguish among Sheikh's supporters.
Bhupinder Singh Manna from Bahujan Samaj Party and Krishna Murari from BJP is also in the fray.
Huzaifa Amir Rashadi, son of Rashtriya Ulama Council President Aamir Rashadi Madni, in an exclusive conversation with ETV Bharat, complained about unemployment in the state.
"The youth are worried. The vacancies are not being filled, " Huzaifa said.
He said that his father Maulana Amir Rashadi Madani National President of Rashtriya Ulema Council has formed United Democratic Alliance (UDA)in which Rashtriya Ulema Council, Bhim Army, Azad Samaj Party, Nagarik Ekta Party, Kisan Party have "united the country and I am united with them".
Huzaifa said his opponents had been " uneasy after seeing me in the field" saying h was the "youngest candidate in the whole of Uttar Pradesh".
In an indirect reference to the BJP, Huzaifa said that the political parties were "only indulging into Hindu-Muslim rhetoric, but no one is seeing the basic problems of Deedar Ganj".
"Even today there is no degree college here, " he said.
Over the SP denying the party ticket to Adil Sheikh, Huzaifa said the party "has done wrong" to him.
"He has been betrayed. Samajwadi Party has treated Muslims with discrimination. Akhilesh Yadav has not allied with any of the Muslim political parties. It is not anyone's property nor it is a widow's wealth that can be looted by anybody. The youth are coming forward and asking for their share. Now mere submission is not going to work. Muslims are not going to vote for free," he said.
"At such a young age, we have struggled a lot. We have endured many cases. We have struggled for the people, even in jails. I have visited all the cities of India. We started the CAA movement. If you fight for the rights of the people, you get the help from the Almighty and people pray for you".
