A Darul Uloom Deoband-educated cleric and pavement bookseller outside a popular eatery at Mohammed Ali Road, Qasmi is the BSP's candidate, and a remarkable change is seen at his tiny bookshop ever since he filed his nomination papers. Books in Urdu on Dalit icons like Ambedkar, Shahu Maharaj, Jyotiba Phule and Maratha warrior Shivaji are now prominently displayed under the rickety, tarpaulin-covered roof. A miniature elephant (BSP's symbol) carved in wood has been brought in, too, as if to make a statement.
Every day, before he begins his tour of the constituency, Qasmi spends some time at his bookshop. The odds are stacked against him as he knows he is fighting against formidable rivals like sitting Congress MP Milind Deora, Bala Nandgaonkar (MNS), Arvind Sawant (Shiv Sena) and Meera Sanyal (AAP).
At a tea stall in Pydhonie, the 57-year-old kurta pajama-clad, bearded cleric chats with another group of community members who tell him he will only be a "spoiler". In 2009, BSP candidate Mohammed Ali Shaikh had received 33,799 votes.
"I have been in the city for three decades and have keenly watched the systematic marginalisation of Muslims in the city's politics. I know I cannot match the resources of some of my prominent rivals, but I am sure I have given them some sleepless nights," claims the cleric, who says emissaries from a prominent candidate tried to convince him to withdraw. "They said the leader is ready to talk to me and address my grievances if I withdraw my candidature. I told them I don't need anything. If I am not influential enough, why do they feel threatened?" he asks.
Qasmi moved to Mumbai from his native Faizabad (UP) in the 1980s and set up his bookshop. He has never dabbled in politics earlier. But why did he choose BSP? "I didn't choose BSP. BSP chose me. Behenji Mayawati and BSP's Maharashtra president Vilas Garur screened a number of applicants and chose me though I had nothing to offer them except my honesty and integrity," says Qasmi.
As we walk ahead, the maulvi shakes hands with more people. When asked about the assets he has declared in his nomination form, he mentions a jhopda (hut) in Worli and a small flat in Kandivli. He is perhaps the only candidate in Mumbai's richest constituency who didn't possess a bank account till he opened one for filing his nomination last week. "I don't believe in amassing wealth. So what is the use of a bank account?" he asks.
What about rumours that he has received a handsome amount to play spoilsport? "Prove it and we will leave the field," says his son Abdullah, adding that it is difficult for them to even afford the cost of printing pamphlets and handbills.
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