The state has 15 assembly seats wherein Muslim votes are decisive. Out of these, Muslims account for between 20% and 40% of the voters in seven constituencies while six seats have 15% to 20% Muslims
Waquar Hasan | Clarion India
NEW DELHI — There is a palpable unease among Muslims over a lack of representation in the candidates fielded by the INDIA bloc and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the assembly elections later this month in Jharkhand.
In a state where Muslims account for around 15%, the INDIA bloc has fielded only four candidates from the community for the 82-seat assembly while NDA has fielded only one Muslim.
“There is resentment among the Muslim community as (Congress leader) Rahul Gandhi talks about representation of the community as per its numbers. But they don’t follow this when it comes to ticket distribution. It’s not that there is no resentment. There is a resentment. Whenever any meeting is held, people express their resentment in this regard. However, it was noticed that at the last moment, Muslims vote for the INDIA bloc,” Afzal Anis, President of the United Milli Forum (UNF) told Clarion India over the phone.
Among the four Muslim candidates fielded by the INDIA bloc, Irfan Ansari (Jamtara) and Nishat Alam (Pakur) are from the Congress while Hafizur Hasan (Madhupur) and Nizamuddin Ansari (Dhanwar) are contesting on Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) tickets.
The state has 15 assembly seats wherein Muslim votes are decisive. Out of these, Muslims account for between 20% and 40% of the voters in seven constituencies while six constituencies have 15% to 20% Muslim voters.
In Jamtara, Muslims are around 40% and about 36% each in Pakur and Rajmahal. The community makes up 26% of voters in Madhupur, 23% each in Tundi and Gandey while 15-20% of Muslims are in Mahgama, Hatiya and Dhanbad.
Apart from the two leading alliances, the Azad Samaj Party (ASP) has fielded five Muslims in the 16 constituencies it is contesting. They are Dr Nazeer Alam (Mandu), Manzoor Alam (Bermo), Mumtaz Khan (Panki), Kashi Raza Siddiqi (Jamshedpur West) and Siraj Khan (Vishrampur).
On the other hand, All India Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has also fielded five candidates. They are Mahtab Alam (Ranchi), Babar Khan (Jamshedpur East), Kamran Khan (Mahgama), MM Khan (Garhwa) and Subodh Paswan (Chatra).
The BJP has not fielded any Muslim candidate while its ally AJSU (All Jharkhand Student Union) has fielded a Muslim from Pakur.
Anis said that the four Muslim candidates fielded by the INDIA bloc are not proportional to the population of the Muslims as the alliance will get a larger chunk of Muslim votes. The alliance should have fielded Muslim candidates from Dhanbad, Bokaro, Hatiya and Ranchi also, he said.
“There was resentment among Muslims in the Lok Sabha polls with regard to Muslim candidates. There is resentment in the assembly elections also. But people want the INDIA bloc to win. However, there is resentment against some of its candidates,” he said.
According to Anis, there is resentment among the community against Parnav Gupta (Jamshedpur West), Mithlesh Thakur (Garhwa) and Anup Singh (Bermo). Singh, who is a Congress candidate, had said that he was a Sanatani Hindu and would not tolerate cow-smuggling only because Muslims vote for Congress. He also celebrated the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya more than the BJP supporters.
