Lok Sabha Polls: 25 years, zero Muslim MPs from Gujarat AHMEDABAD: The last time a Muslim candidate entered the Lok Sabha from Gujarat was in 1984. That candidate, the Congresss Ahmed Patel, lost from his bastion Bharuch in 1989 — the year when the BJP became a dominant force in the state. Since then, no Muslim has ever made it to the Lok Sabha from Gujarat. In 1962, only two Muslim candidates were in the fray from Gujarat in the countrys third Lok Sabha elections. In the 1967 polls, there were none. More than 40 years after Gujarat first took part in a general election as a separate state, nothing seems to have changed for Muslims here insofar as their representation in Parliament is concerned. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, of the total 334 candidates in the fray in Gujarat, 67 (or 19.76%) are from the minority community. This figure, however, does not give the correct picture of Muslim representation. Most Muslim candidates this year are independents or have been fielded by parties like the Samajwadi Party (SP) that does not count for much in Gujarat politics. The Muslim nominees are contesting from Panchamahals, Kheda, Anand, Bharuch, Navsari, Sabarkantha, Jamnagar and Junagadh seats. Muslims comprise just 9.5% of Gujarats population. However, no party has fielded Muslim candidates in proportion to their population right from the 1962 general election. In fact, no Muslim MP has been elected from Gujarat after 1989, that is, for the last 25 years! When it comes to giving tickets to Muslim candidates, both the BJP and the Congress have proved tightfisted. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has, till date, not fielded a single candidate from the minority community in parliamentary polls from Gujarat. Talking to TOI, Asifa Khan, national executive member of BJP Minority Morcha, said that getting tickets for the Lok Sabha polls has never been a priority for the Muslim community. BJP too doesnt believe in giving token tickets to Muslims. There are bigger issues such as healthcare, education and job opportunities that need to be addressed ... adequate representation in tickets will follow on its own, Khan said. In Gujarat, most Muslim candidates contesting as independents are propped up by mainstream political parties — particularly the BJP — to cut into the votes of rivals. For instance, in 2009, Kaleem Abdul Latif Sheikh was fielded by the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) in Panchmahal to ensure the defeat of Congress candidate Shankarsinh Vaghela. Latif had polled 23,615 votes while Vaghela lost by a mere 2,081 votes. The winner was the saffron partys Prabhatsinh Chauhan. This year, Kaleem is again in the fray from Panchmahal but this time as an SP candidate. But his brother, Arif Abdul Latif Sheikh, is contesting against Vaghela in Sabarkhantha on SP ticket. The Congress, which has been the main beneficiary of Muslim votes, has done marginally better in giving representation to the minority community in ticket distribution. Some Congress candidates such as Ahmed Patel, political secretary to the Congress president Sonia Gandhi, did win in the past but most of the partys nominees lost. Bharuch parliamentary seat has been the epicenter of Muslim politics in Gujarat right from the 1962 general election. Of the 13,92,076 total voters in Bharuch constituency, 3,85,000 are from the minority community. Since 1962, eight Muslim aspirants have tried their luck from Bharuch but only Ahmed Patel was able to win thrice in polls held from 1977 to 1989. In 1962, of the two Muslims in the fray, only one was elected. Zoharaben Akbarbhai Chavada won from Banaskantha seat on a Congress ticket. In 1967, Gujarat did not send a single Muslim MP to the Lok Sabha. No party had nominated a Muslim leader in 24 constituencies. In 1971, the only Muslim candidate, Gulam Mohmed Suleman Matadar of Indian National Congress (Organization), failed to win from Bharuch which, currently, has about 24% Muslim voters. Three Muslims contested from the state in the 1977 polls. Of them, only two — Ahmed Patel (Bharuch) and Ehsan Jafri (Ahmedabad), both from the Congress — could win. In 1980 and 1984, Ahmed Patel was the only Muslim MP from Gujarat. In 1989, Muslim candidates Ahmed Alibhal Shersiya (DMM) and Baloch Basir Valimamad (independent) contested from Surendranagar and Bharuch but both lost. In the 1989 polls, BJPs Chandubhai Shanabhai Deshmukh wrested the Bharuch seat from the Congress. He was the first candidate of the saffron party to win from the constituency. The 1991 elections were no different. Chandu Deshmukh defeated Ahmed Patel for the second time. In 1996, no Muslim candidate was fielded by the Congress and Deshmukh retained Bharuch for the third time. In 1998, Kakuji Iqbalbhai Mahammedbhai was fielded by the Congress from Bharuch. The BJP maintained its supremacy for the fourth time after its nominee, ChanduDeshmukh, defeated Kakuji. In 1999, too, the Congresss Amarsingh Ramsingh Vasava lost to the BJPs Mansukhbhai Vasava from Bharuch. In 2004 Lok Sabha polls — the first general elections to be held after the 2002 Gujarat riots — only one Muslim candidate, Patel Muhammad Fansiwala, contested on a Congress ticket from Bharuch. But he too was beaten by the BJPs Mansukhbhai by a margin of over 70,000 votes. In the parliamentary elections held in 2009, Umerji Ahmed Ugharatdar of the Congress was trounced by BJPs Mansukhbhai Vasava by a margin of 27,232 votes. This year, the Congress candidate from Navsari, Maksud Mirza, is the only Muslim to be fielded by the party. The BJP has again not fielded a single Muslim candidate. Mulayam Singh Yadavs SP has fielded seven Muslims, the highest by any one party. Winnability main factor? Is the winnability factor the reason why parties dont field many Muslim candidates? The BJP has never given an assembly ticket to any minority community candidate. The saffron party had, for the first time, fielded about 200 candidates in panchayat and local body elections in 2011. Of these, 160 had won. In the 2007 assembly polls, the Congress fielded five Muslims and all of them won. But in the 2012 polls, only two Muslims were elected. In 1995, the only Muslim candidate who won was the independent Usmangani Devidwala. In 1998, five Muslims were elected of which four were from the Congress. Only three Muslims could win in the assembly elections held after the 2002 riots.
Posted on: Sat, 19 Apr 2014 19:05:52 +0000
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