New Delhi, April 5: The Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind, one of the country’s oldest and most powerful Islamic organisations, “split” after a group led by Maulana Mahmood Madani “expelled” incumbent president Maulana Arshad Madani.

The Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court, where the case for the Jamiat’s control is being heard, is expected to adjudicate on who the “real” head is.

The organisation, launched in 1919, fathered India’s oldest Islamic seminary, the Dar-ul Uloom of Deoband, and played a big role in the freedom struggle. It was traditionally aligned with the Congress and arranged a big meeting for Rahul Gandhi in Deoband before the 2007 Uttar Pradesh elections.

But with the split, observers believe the umbilical cord could snap. Mahmood is a Rajya Sabha MP from Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal.

Mahmood, a nephew of Arshad, had convened a meeting of the Jamiat’s central managing committee, ostensibly to work out a settlement with his uncle. Instead, the meeting passed a resolution dismissing Arshad and his supporters from primary membership for “anti-Jamiat activities”.

Bengal general secretary Siddiqullah Chowdhury is with Mahmood.

Arshad, who claims to represent the real Jamiat, said: “With his split, the Jamiat is saved. Its original character has been restored.”

Mahmood, who was not available for comment, has moved the Lucknow bench against his uncle’s “unlawful control” of the Jamiat. Arshad said he would move court to contest the “illegal” meeting his nephew called today.

As the organisation is entangled in what looks like a long-drawn battle, the Congress appears set to lose one of its remaining conduits to tap Muslim votes in the heartland.