Madhya Pradesh polls: Shrinking Muslim representation unlikely to improve

Muslims account for around seven per cent of Madhya Pradesh’s population and have a decisive presence in over two dozen seats across the state including two in the capital Bhopal. But the community’s political representation has continued to shrink. From seven Muslim legislators in 1962, a lone Muslim lawmaker was elected to the assembly in 2013. Two Muslim candidates Arif Aqeel and Arif Masood were elected on Congress tickets from Bhopal to the 230-member House in 2018. Madhya Pradesh is going to the polls on November 17. (ANI) The representation is unlikely to increase with just one Muslim candidate featuring on the Congress’s first l of 144 candidates. The BJP has named 136 candidates but none of them is a Muslim. Fatima Siddique, the lone BJP Muslim candidate in the 2018 assembly elections, lost to Aqeel about 35000 votes. Bahujan Samaj Party has nominated one Muslim and Samajwadi Party nine candidates for the 2023 polls. Mohammad Mahir, a community leader, said they do not have leaders with any influence over the community. He added Muslims have supported the Congress and the party won 10-12 seats due to their support in 2018. “But still the community does not have any say in the Congress.” Political analyst Dinesh Gupta said no party wants to risk alienating majority Hindu voters fielding Muslim candidates. Congress leader JP Dhanopia said, unlike the BJP, their party does not think on caste or religion lines. “We select the best candidate for every constituency.” BJP leader Rajneesh Agrawal said the BJP has always trusted the community. “Many members from the community were elected on BJP tickets in civic bodies elections last year. We gave tickets to a community member in the previous assembly election too. The question should be asked to Congress as to why it does not trust the community but always treats it as a vote bank.” “Exciting news! Hindustan Times is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!” Click here! ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ranjan Srivastava leads HT’s coverage from Bhopal. He has spent more than two decades in journalism in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, covering political and other affairs. For the past 16 years, he has been working in Madhya Pradesh. …view detail