No-holds-barredin run-up to Stateassembly elections  By AmbaCharan Vashishth                   As the elections to theassemblies in five states — Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur — in February-March next year are drawing nearer, almost everypolitical party seems to be trying to do everything that can appeal to theconstituency of its voters to support it.Gone are the days whenindividuals and political parties did not openly appeal to castes and creedsalthough discreetly they did. Caste and religion did matter as parties gavetickets to their candidates based on the majority of the caste and religion inthe constituency. But this time it is all open. Political parties areorganizing caste sammelans and appealing on community lines too..Is this notbanned under the provisions of the Representation of the Peoples’ Act? But theywill claim that the Election Commission (EC) of India has, so far, notannounced the election schedule and, therefore, this Act cannot be invoked. JINNAH’S GIN Everythingis fair in love and war. Now it is being extended to the sphere of politicalelections too. In the run-up to the elections to five State Assemblies leaders of differentpolitical parties are desperately trying every tool for the game. The former UPchief minister, Akhilesh Yadav has equated Mohammad Ali Jinnah with MahatmaGandhi, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel, He said all of them studiedlaw at the same institute and worked as barristers. He credited Jinnah withhelping India get freedom. One fails to understand Akhilesh’s logic and facts. Jinnah’s only achievementis the division of India which resulted in the killing of lakhs of people andworld’s first such a great migration of population from one country to theother. The people of India can never pardon Jinnah for this treachery. IfAkhilesh thinks that by praising Jinnah he can win the heart of Muslims inIndia, he is under a wrong impression. If the Muslims of India were soenamoured of him, they would not have continued to stay in the partitioned India,but migrated to Pakistan.   Almostevery political party is trying to lure the Muslim votes, particularly in UP wherethey command 19 percent of the voter strength. It is also believed that thiscommunity exercises its right to franchise almost collectively in favour of oneparty. They also, at times, decide to favour a person or party which can causethe defeat of Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). The AllIndia Majlis-e-ittehadi (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi has already argued thatif Yadav’s with a vote value of just 9 percent can form a government, why can’tMuslims with a chunk of 19 percent strength of voters can't.