Azamgarh, June 20: The Samajwadi Party on Monday received a major jolt when the Rashtriya Ulama Council (RUC), which wields a considerable influence among Muslims in the area, announced its support to the Bahujan Samaj Party in the Lok Sabha bypolls scheduled to be held on June 23.
The RUC has asked Muslims to support BSP candidate Shah Alam a.k.a. Guddu Jamali.
Guddu Jamali told reporters that RUC support would be his ticket to victory.
The Ulama Council has a strong base in Sadar, Mubarakpur and Gopalpur Assembly seats of Azamgarh.
Meanwhile, the Samajwadi Party put up a brave front and said that this would not have any impact on the elections and its candidate Dharmendra Yadav would emerge a winner.
