Bangalore: With the upcoming Assembly Elections, the vote bank politics is seen coming to the fore once again. Congress has been on terms to offer a Muslim quota (4.5 percent Sub-quota) within the 27 percent reservation for OBCs in central government jobs in the five election-bound states, particularly UP. All the political parties seem to have positioned themselves to reap electoral dividends.

On Tuesday the Election Commission (EC) issued a show-cause notice to Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid and his wife, Louise Khurshid, the Congress candidate from Farrukhabad in UP. The show cause notice was served as the law minister was campaigning for Louise and promised a 9 percent sub-quota for backward Muslims if Congress got voted to power in Uttar Pradesh. Khurshid retaliated to this by saying that he was merely repeating a pledge in his party's election manifesto for the 2009 general election. He also said that his statement was not a poll violation of any sorts.

SP Chief Mulayam Singh who had initially refused to back the sub-quota apparently fearing the backlash from OBCs, later said that he would back 18 percent quota for Muslims. But it was noted that this would not be possible as experts said the quota cannot exceed 50 percent of the total OBC Muslim population and hence is currently 9 percent.

The BJP who has nothing to lose is seeking to use the quota politics to create a drift among OBC voters in the state who are inclined to support the SP and the Congress.