THE NEHALUDDIN Formula was born in Luckow in Uttar Pradesh in the mid 1990s and today like a new virus it has gripped the minds of all senior political leaders in India. This political fervour is leading to a political fever of another kind - the wooing of muslim vote political fever. From Salman Khurshid to Digvijaya Singh to Uma Bharati to Rahul Gandhi to Ayub Ansari to Rajnath Singh to Mulayam Singh Yadav to Akhilesh Yadav to Azam Khan - the Nehaluddin Formula has everyone in thrall.

Even before the Sacchar Panel or the Ranganath Mishra Panel came the Nehaluddin Formula for Muslims and their upliftment was present. It was not about reservation based on the basis of religion, as per Nehaluddin. Today, Uma Bharati counters this and says that there should be no resesrvation based on religion but then why should only one religious group get reservation (read Hindus), Nehaluddin has said.

Why did the BJP not seek abolishment of the Mandal Commission recommendations because that was for the first time that Muslims OBCs got the benefit of reservation, he has asked?

The All India Muslim Forum President Nehaluddin Ahmad had put forth a package for reservation for backward Muslim castes within the quota of the Mandal Commission. As per the provisions of the Mandal Commission particular backward castes of Muslims can have reservation in government jobs.

The Congress issued a Minority Quota Bill which Digvijaya Singh now wants reviewed. So does Salman Khurshid who wants to give 9 per cent reservation to Muslim OBCs and so does Rahul Gandhi. The reservation issue is a major component of the SP manifesto and the only one silent on the Nehaluddin Formula is Maywati who had the chance to create history by being the first to implement it.