The appointment of Mr. Salman Khursheed as the new UPCC(I) chief obviously with an eye on the Muslim vote bank in Uttar Pradesh, now solidly behind the Samajwadi Party led by Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav, is sure to drive the latter and its camp follower Babari Masjid Action Committee, to take a more belligerent posture to protect its vote bank. The new PCC chief will be all likelihood target the Sangh parivar on the Ayodhya issue, which has once again come under sharp focus of late.

The apology offered by the Congress over the Ayodhya demolition during its pre-poll campaign and Mrs. Sonia Gandhi drawing large crowds in her poll rallies had unnerved Mr. Mulayam Singh that a slice of Muslim votes may gravitate back to the Congress ... The Muslims remained unmoved by the overtures ... The party got an unprecedented drubbing ... losing in each of the Lok Sabha seats. its poll percentage dropped to an unprecedented level of nearly 6 per cent. And the recent Assembly by-elections demonstrated a further decline to nearly 3 per cent of polled votes.

The Muslims hold the Congress responsible for the series of Ayodhya developments ...

The Muslim Union ministers like Mr. Salman Khursheed who was then a Minister of State for External Affairs, have been asked why they did not resign in protest of the failure of the Union Government to act in time to save the structure ....

Mr. Salman Khursheed's plus point in his age ... The new UPCC(I) chief has announced that he will target the Kalyan Singh government to bring it down. Will he seek to make a common cause with the opposition to take on the BJP.                               (Source: The Hindu, 8 July, 1998)