What is amply demonstrated from the state assembly elections is that Muslims are marginalised in terms of political representation and this poses a grave danger to the community.
Syed Ali Mujtaba
The recent assembly election in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, and Telangana witnessed an abysmal representation of the Muslim community in state legislatures. This needs introspection and cannot be blamed on the community whose representation is fast dwindling in the decision-making bodies.
In the 230-member Madhya Pradesh Assembly, there are only two Muslim MLAs. Rajasthan’s 200-member assembly has only six Muslim MLAs. In Telangana’s 119-member assembly, there are only seven Muslim MLAs. In Chhattisgarh, the 90-member assembly has no Muslim representation.
The population of Muslims in Madhya Pradesh is seven per cent and as per their electoral strength, Muslims should have at least 16 MLAs but there are only two legislators. There are no Muslims in the 163 winners from the BJP. Congress won a total of 66 seats and there are only two Muslim MLAs from the party, both coming from Bhopal.
In Chhattisgarh, Muslims stare at their diminishing representation in the legislative assembly. In the 90-member assembly, there is not a single Muslim MLA. As per the 2011 census, Muslims were around 2.2 percent in Chhattisgarh and in 2023 they may have become 3.5 percent, but there is no representation of the Muslims in the assembly. Both Congress and the BJP have sidelined Muslims in the distribution of election tickets.
The Congress fielded only Muslim candidate; Mohammad Akbar who had won the 2018 assembly election but this time he lost to BJP’s Vijay Sharma in his Kawardha constituency. Akbar was particularly targeted by the BJP which had left no stone unturned to ensure his defeat.
In the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly, there are six Muslim MLAs. None of the 115 winners from the BJP is a Muslim All the winning Muslim MLAs belong to the Congress party except Yunus Khan who won as an Independent. In 2018, Khan had contested on the BJP ticket. The Congress fielded 15 Muslim candidates but 10 of them lost, mostly against BJP candidates.
The population of Muslims in Rajasthan is about 10 percent and they should have at least 20 MLAs but only six found their way into the assembly.
In Telangana’s 119-member assembly, there are only seven Muslim MLAs, all of them belonging to AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen). The Congress won 64 seats and ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) 39 seats but no Muslim candidate won from these parties. The population of Muslims in Telangana is around 13 percent and they should have at least 15 Muslim MLAs. The BJP did not give ticket to any Muslim
With seven Muslim MLAs in Telangana, six in Rajasthan, and two in Madhya Pradesh, there is no Muslim elected member on the treasury side in all these three states. This is a serious matter and needs introspection.
What is amply demonstrated from the state assembly elections is that Muslims are marginalised in terms of political representation and this poses a grave danger to the community.
The assembly results have sent the message that it is politics that is going to decide the future of the Muslim community in India. If such is the case then Muslims have to decide as to what kind of politics they want, if they have to live with dignity in this country.
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Syed Ali Mujtaba is a journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba2007@gmail.com
