#JaiMeem, #JaiBhim All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (#AIMIM) with two members in the new state assembly.The party, based in Andhra Pradesh (AP),marked its debut in #Maharashtra by fielding 24 candidates, of whom two emerged victorious. AIMIM’s success also signals that voters, Muslim and non-Muslim, have decided to give this party a chance in Maharashtra politics. These voters have not ignored the communal and anti-Muslim background of key parties in Maharashtra, particularly Shiv Sena. Shiv Sena’s failure to emerge as the leading party and dismal performance of MNS also indicates that majority of state voters preferred to give greater importance to the BJP’s development agenda than be swayed by communal designs of these two parties. Muslim voters of this state have also displayed the same attitude toward BJP. Emergence of #MIM suggests that Muslim voters view this party as a symbol of their political identity in Maharashtra. The #MAJLIS entry in Maharashtra assembly should not be viewed as polarization of votes along religious or communal lines. It is simply symbolic of Indian Muslims being keen to assert their political identity. The victory of six Muslims from Congress, one from Samajwadi Party and one from Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is a testament to this emerging awareness. BJP has also failed in attracting Muslim voters in Haryana. The BJP tried to gain their support by fielding two Muslims in Muslim-dominated constituencies of Mewat, Ferozpur and Jhirka. The BJP fielded a non-Muslim candidate from Nuh, third Muslim-dominated constituency of Mewat. Zakir Hussain of Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) won from Nuh, Naseem Ahmed (INLD) from Ferozpur and Rahish Khan, Independent Muslim candidate, from Punhana. It may be noted that these three constituencies have witnessed communal incidents last year. Attitude of voters in Mewat, where Muslim population is more than 70 percent, has been described as their resistance to being swept by Modi wave. If Muslims here are against being swept by Modi wave, it is time BJP gave serious thought to this issue. Despite having failed to attract Muslim vote, the BJP has registered victory in Maharashtra and Haryana. Assembly elections are due in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), Jharkhand and Bihar. True, as part of his political campaign Modi visited J&K to share sweets with soldiers at Siachen base camp on Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights. This has provoked criticism from several quarters on why didn’t Modi visit the state on Eid ul Adha, at a time when Kashmiris were affected by floods? Or is Modi trying to satisfy only Hindu voters in J&K? Against these odds, will Muslims deliberately choose not to be affected by Modi wave by voting against BJP or not?
Posted on: Sun, 26 Oct 2014 05:07:44 +0000
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