Amir Jaffrey, Moradabad lawyer and Congress member, poured out his angst: “Please check the visitors’ register at the local Congress office. From March 31 till date, only 200 have signed in. See how much enthusiasm there is for us!”

Jaffrey frankly said “80 per cent” Muslims liked the Samajwadi. As one travels in the hinterland, the reasons pan out. Hasim Saifi, 39, who owns an electrical appliances’ outlet in Gajraula, 50km west of Moradabad, said: “The Samajwadi has done everything for us, Rs 30,000 for high school pass Muslim girls, laptops, electricity for 18 or 19 hours.”

Khan’s “bayaan baazi” (statements), the last of which gave a Hindu-Muslim spin to the Kargil conflict, appear to have struck a chord here.

Aseem Aijaz, a Rampur contractor, said: “What he said was correct because nobody, not even the so-called secular media, ever appreciates the role Muslims play in guarding the country’s borders. We are only painted as terrorists.”

However, the chinks in Khan’s armour were apparent in a communally polarised election. The Samajwadi’s core Yadavs and the BSP’s base Jatav votes were visibly migrating towards the BJP: the Yadavs in a backlash against Mulayam’s alleged patronage of Khan and of Muslims in general and the Jatavs to vote Modi as the Prime Minister.

Maulana Tauqeer Raza, the Bareilly cleric and president of the Itihad-e-Millat Council who is as sought-after by politicians in Rohailkhand as Syed Ahmed Bukhari of Delhi’s Jama Masjid is before an election, claimed he was “fighting hard” to salvage Mayawati’s Jatav votes.

But what about the shaky Jatav base? “Yes, the Jatavs were moving away from Mayawati. But over the past few days, my men have been telling the Muslims to cast their votes en bloc for the BSP. Now the message is slowly percolating among the Jatavs that if the Muslims vote the BSP, they too should come back and strengthen Mayawatiji.” May 16 will tell who was more effective: Azam Khan or Maulana Raza.

lRohailkhand votes on April 17