Muslim votes have become very crucial in Kadapa bypolls for all the three top candidates of Kadapa Lok Sabha seat. While YSR Congress candidate Y S Jaganmohan Reddy is confident that the four per cent reservation that his father Y S Rajasekhara Reddy had ensured for the community would vouch their loyalty to the son, the Congress is touting the alleged Jagan-BJP links to steer their votes to the side of the ruling party.

The candidates in fray -  Jagan, D L Ravindra Reddy (Congress) and M V Mysura Reddy (TDP) - believe half the battle is won if Muslim vote is with them. All the three are making a last-ditch effort to win the hearts of the Muslims. There are nearly two lakh Muslim voters in Kadapa LS constituency with Kadapa assembly segment accounting for 57,000 votes, Proddatur 35,000, Jammalamadugu 24,000, Kamalapuram and Badvel 22,000 each, Mydukur 18,000 and Pulivendula 16,000 votes. Of the three contestants, Jagan seems to have an edge over the other two. Ulema Council of India member Moulana Abul Hasan Ali, who has come here to campaign for Jagan says, "A majority of the Muslim votes are with YSR Congress. The days of the Congress are numbered." Jagan too has stirred a hornet's nest last week when he said he would have no issues to align with any party if it agreed to provide 10 per cent quota for Muslim minorities.

On the other hand Congress is trying its best to wean away the Muslim votes from Jagan by harping upon his alleged links with the BJP. The common refrain of former minister Mohd Shabbir Ali is that Jagan was desperate to sail with the saffron party. "His late father had done so much for the Muslims. But his son is out to undo everything by hobnobbing with BJP leaders and secretly holding parleys with Sushma Swaraj and other top leaders," he alleged. He said Muslims would not pardon Jagan for his overtures to BJP and certainly elect the Congress nominees only. But Jagan has effectively countered the allegations saying "I have been voicing for a higher quota for Muslims. So where's the question of my party aligning with the BJP. My rivals are unnecessarily raking up a new controversy to win the confidence of Muslims."

While Kadapa MLC Sheik Hasan, Guntur MLC Mohd Jani along with Ahmedulla and Shabbir Ali are canvassing for DLR seeking the Muslim votes, former MP Lal Jan Basha, ex-deputy speaker N Md Farooq and Hindupur MLA Abdul Ghani are rooting for TDP's Mysura. The way that the Muslim vote is being wooed by all the three parties clearly implies that they would hold the key as to who would emerge victorious in the Kadapa LS bypoll.