Stiff Contest Among 'Secular' Parties For Minority Vote In Gujarat

Competition to bag Muslim vote seems to be getting fiercer in the upcoming Gujarat Assembly elections as the minority community now has several "secular" parties to choose from in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled state.

In earlier elections, the Congress was considered the only major contender for the Muslim vote in Gujarat, but this time, the main opposition party is facing stiff competition from smaller outfits to get minority electors on its side.

Congress is facing competition from Hyderabad-based All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and some other parties for support in polls from this section of the society.

In the 2017 elections, just three Muslim MLAs, all from the Congress party, had won. The number, however, was better than 2012 when there were just two MLAs. In the overall state population of 6.5 crore, Muslims account for roughly 11 per cent and have a sizeable presence in around 25 Assembly seats.

The BJP, which has been ruling the state for more than two decades now, is not seen as a viable option for Muslim voters, which have a sizeable presence in more than two dozen seats in the 182-member state Assembly.

The Congress party had, in 2017, given tickets to six Muslim candidates in the state as against seven in 2012. The BJP is known for not giving any tickets to Muslim candidates.

Earlier this year, the Congress appointed its Wankaner MLA Mohammad Pirzzada as the working president of the party, in an attempt to woo the minority community.

State Congress president Jagdish Thakor, in a bid to ensure that the Muslim vote stays with the party, repeated a 2006 statement of the then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who had said that minorities must have the "first claim" on resources of the country.

Thakor's remark in July triggered a backlash from right-wing outfits that accused him of indulging in appeasement politics for votes.

AIMIM head and Lok Sabha MP Assaduddin Owaisi has frequently visited Gujarat to garner Muslim vote. His party had said that it would fight 30 seats in Gujarat and has already declared six candidates.

Meanwhile, AAP is working silently to woo the community. It had recently organised a road-show by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in the minority-dominated Dariapur area. AAP has so far declared three Muslim candidates.

"Till the last elections (in 2017), Muslims did not have a choice as in Gujarat, the fight has been between two parties (Congress and BJP). But now, more political parties have come here for the 2022 elections. Multi-cornered electoral contest is a good thing in a democracy," said Mujahid Nafees, convener, Minority Coordination Committee, a non-political organisation.

"This will end the attitude of taking the Gujarat Muslims for granted, which used to be the case so far. People will have more choices. This situation will make every party come to us and seek our vote," he said.

Congress MLA from Dariapur, Gyasuddin Sheikh, is of the opinion that Muslim voters will stay with Congress, the 'grand old party', in Gujarat.

"In Gujarat, the situation is unique. Except for one seat of Jamalpur-Khadia, where Muslims comprise 65 per cent of the local population, on other seats, the minority community candidates require Hindu votes to win. Like in my seat of Dariapur, there is 40 per cent Muslim population. If I do not get votes from Hindus, I will not be able to win. So, AIMIM candidates in the state would not get Hindu votes," he said.

"We have been largely able to convince the Muslim population this point that Hindus will not vote for AIMIM candidate. So the Congress is the only option for us. Congress gives six to seven tickets to the community every time," he added.

"BJP does not give any ticket to us. The truth of AAP has come to the fore as people have realised that (Delhi Chief Minister Arvind) Kejriwal is not ready to speak on any issue of the minority community. He wants to be a holier Hindu than BJP," he said.

"So AIMIM and AAP are not the options for the minority community here," he added.

Talking to PTI, AIMIM Gujarat's head Sabir Kabliwala said the party would field 30 candidates in the state.

"We have already declared the names of six candidates. There is a good atmosphere for AIMIM here in Gujarat and we will win seats here. Owaisi is coming here frequently to campaign," Kabliwala said.

"I was an MLA from Jamalpur-Khadia seat from the Congress party. But they betrayed me. I am fighting from this seat and will win it," he said.

AAP is also of the opinion that Muslims will go with the party in Gujarat.

"This is for the first time that a national party has given a ticket to a Muslim from Jambusar," AAP's Jambusar candidate Sajid Rehan said, adding that AAP is very popular among the minority community in the state.

"Here, the AIMIM organisation is very weak and people will vote for AAP only," he said, adding that he was confident of AAP's success.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)