new delhi the 1991 election in uttar pradesh turned mulayam singh yadav into maulana mulayam the 1999 lok sabha contest shrank hindutva icon kalyan singh into a caste leader of lodhs after march 6 salman khurshid may find it tough to live down the image of a muslim leader the suave ministers unexpected belligerence over last fortnight on muslim issues woke partymen and observers to a new khurshid one eager to be seen as community leader an absolute aboutturn for the man who spent years in congress resisting use of identity as a bargaining chip the melodrama over batla house that khurshid wove in azamgarh saying sonia gandhi wept on seeing pictures of alleged slain terrorist atif amin and his advocacy of muslim reservation despite ec censure is contrary to his moderate stance as the minister for minority affairs over the past 31 months khurshid refused to swim with the populist tide dubbing quota as a doubleedged sword for muslims and kept the ministry anchored in development initiatives the middlepath earned him an army of detractors their grudge with the minister expressed in half jest maanga tha musalman de diya salman khurshid was never a muslim in the way identity politics tags leaders by community or caste the anglophiles laboured hindiurdu made him incongruous with the acceptable minority image and it appeared in tune with intraparty dynamics the traditional belief in congress has held that only a hindu can be a muslim leader biggies like h n bahuguna and arjun singh carefully cultivated the secular image aicc general secretary digvijaya singh has modeled himself on his guru dau saab his contentious views on reservation batla house and even his osamaji seen in that light congressmen believe that a muslims advocacy of minority issues in a country with the past of the partition would attract charges of communalism not a hindu khurshid was also seen to understand the ethos of a centrist congress which cannot afford to mimic strident voices of mulayamlalu combo on minority issues this up election marks a watershed congresss aggressive advocacy of muslim reservation led by heir apparent rahul gandhi is a first and the loud speeches different from what is tucked away in party manifestoes with digvijaya singh and co are quite unapologetic khurshid may have fallen victim to the pressure of competition within the muslim agenda with his home state as battlefield presents his best chance to carve a niche for himself the influence of maanga tha barb seems evident as the race for minority votes enters the final paces an anxious congress may be praying that march 6 changes its fate in the state but khurshid is sure his face has already changed nationallyelections 2012 newsuttar pradesh assembly elections 2012