he four-decade old tradition of holding Iftars during the holy month of Ramzan is gradually petering out in Uttar Pradesh. Political parties that used to compete with each other in holding the best attended Iftars are slowly moving out of the race and the main reason for this is the demolition of vote bank politics in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections.

While UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav hosted one Iftar party this year, he made sure he did not mix around with the guests and remained seated in the VIP enclosure with top leaders of his party and the Muslim clerics. Social workers, party leaders, journalists were ushered to another enclosure and asked to "eat and leave".

The Samajwadi Party that thrived on the Muslim-Yadav combine has always hosted the biggest and best Iftar parties in Lucknow. This year, the SP did not host any such Iftars.

Insiders claim that "Netaji" (Mulayam Singh Yadav) was upset because Muslims had deserted him in the general elections and, therefore, was in no mood to celebrate with them. The SP won merely five seats in the general elections and this was the party's worst ever-performance.

Bahujan Samaj Party leaders like Naseemuddin Siddiqui were also asked not to hold any big Iftar parties this year. The BSP did not win even a single seat in the elections. Naseemuddin Siddiqui is facing cases for disproportionate assets and misappropriation of funds in the construction of memorials. "He did host a small party, but not of the scale that he was known for. The BSP too is upset with Muslims and wants to concentrate on strengthening its Dalit vote base after the debacle," said a senior party leader.

The Congress in UP, on the other hand, kept up the tradition, albeit on a smaller scale. The party is facing a cash crunch and organised the Iftar by seeking donations and contributions from party leaders. The guest list as well as the menu was cut short and so were the spirits among party leaders. Newly appointed UP Governor Ram Naik also held an Iftar but made sure that only vegetarian delicacies were serve d to the guests.

The tradition of holding Iftar parties in Uttar Pradesh was initiated by former Chief Minister Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna in the early 1970s and was a covert medium for wooing the minorities. Bahuguna, old timers recall, would personally telephone and invite the leading Muslim clerics and would individually greet every guest.

The idea was later adopted by other parties and by the end of the 1990s, the attendance at a political Iftar party became an opportunity to flaunt one's support among Muslims. BJP Chief Ministers including Kalyan Singh and Rajnath Singh also hosted grand Iftar parties during their tenures.

Interestingly in 2009, the Lucknow-based Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama issued a fatwa declaring the Iftar parties hoisted by political outfits as "un-Islamic". The fatwa issued by Darul Ifta of Nadwatul Ulama, on a query by retired army personnel, said that since Iftar parties were hosted with political intentions and had no religious purpose, they were un-Islamic. However, the fatwa did not have much bearing on the hosts or the guests and Iftar parties continued thereafter. The election results, however, seem to be sounding the death knell for political Iftars in Uttar Pradesh.