(Mohd Asim is Senior News Editor, NDTV 24x7)
Reeling from a crushing defeat at the hands of the Aam Aadmi Party, Kiran Bedi has said the Election Commission should examine whether a 'fatwa' led to her losing her election in a BJP stronghold . "Fatwas impact voting. They definitely impact the mindset," she said yesterday.
Ms Bedi was referring to leading cleric Syed Ahmed Bukhari's appeal to Muslims to support the Aam Aadmi Party. He made the statement the day before Delhi voted, and the Aam Aadmi Party immediately rejected his gesture, accurately calling it out as an attempt to divide voters along religious lines.
"I was told that during the vote count in Krishna Nagar, I was leading but when the counting of votes of the area where the fatwa might have an impact was carried out, it started to drop," Bedi said, adding "I lost by 2,000 votes when the counting reached that area." Emphasis on 'that' should not to be missed.
If Ms Bedi had only cared to look a bit into the history of the 'fatwa' merchant she was talking about, she would have known that these 'fatwas' from a delusional cleric are nothing but a laughing stock. Just as Ms Bedi has become today, thanks to her being a very sore loser.
Let me help with some facts to make Ms Bedi feel better and digest her defeat in a manner that's more becoming of a former cop.
Imam Bukhari of the Jama Masjid, India's largest mosque, has been a political freelancer all his life. He has been in bed with the Congress, the SP, the BSP, the Trinamool Congress and the BJP. Yes, Ms Bedi you read it right: the BJP. And if history is anything to go by, all these parties will tell you that a fatwa by the old man from Old Delhi has been a bad omen for them to say the least. So, this fatwa, if it actually had its impact, would have gone in favour of Ms Bedi.
Just before the Lok Sabha elections, the imam came out for the Congress. It didn't exactly send the Congress rating shooting up. Before that, in the Uttar Pradesh elections in 2012, he could not ensure a win for his own son-in-law from Behat constituency in Saharanpur, which incidentally has 80% Muslim population. So much for the influence of the fatwa-man.
Let's dig a bit deeper into the history of the fatwa-politics tango. In 2004, Mr Vajpayee got an endorsement from the Jama Masjid. We all know what came of that. Not only this. News reports from 2004 also tell us that current HRD minister Smriti Irani who was then contesting her maiden election from Chandni Chowk used to boast of support from the Shahi Imam.
The problem with Kiran Bedi is that she is apparently unable to make peace with her loss. She entered the political scene thinking of herself as the Chief Minister of Delhi. All through the campaign she behaved like one. She just forgot that there was an election to be won. Today, she is sore, bitter and irrational.
So my advice to Ms Kiran Bedi: Don't heap further insult to your electoral injury. Don't insult the voters of Krishna Nagar.
Ms Bedi, you have lost the election and that's a reality. Deal with it. You and your party have a lot to introspect. There may be a hundred reasons for the loss, but a 'fatwa' is certainly not one of them. Unless, of course, you are talking about one by Dr Harsh Vardhan.
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