Bhopal, November 13: Forming 8-9 percent of Madhya Pradesh's 7.8 crore-population, Muslims in the state are concerned about their inadequate political representation. With only 1 MLA in the 230-member assembly, the community's prospects are unlikely to improve in the upcoming elections, as the Congress has named only 3 Muslims, whereas, the BJP list of candidates features only 1.

The three Muslim candidates fielded by the Congress are: Arif Aqueel, the sitting MLA from Bhopal (north), Hamid Haji from Burhanpur, and Arif Masood from Bhopal (Central). Shivraj Singh Chouhan Predicted to Retain Power in MP: ABP News-Lokniti Survey. 

The sole Muslim candidate from the BJP is Fatima Siddiqui, who has been fielded from the minority-dominated pocket of Bhopal (north), where Congress' Aqueel is the incumbent four-time legislator.

According to Aqueel, the tallest Muslim leader of the Congress in MP, the community has scope to increase its electoral relevance in the state. While speaking to reporters, he claimed that Muslims constitute more than 50 per cent of the population in 9 constituencies, whereas, they form 40,000-50,000 voter base in 10 other seats.

In other words, the voting pattern of the community directly affects the outcome in 19 assembly segments. However, the maximum number of Muslim candidates fielded by both the mainstream parties combined has not crossed 6 since 2003.

According to experts, political parties fear polarisation of voters in case of more number of Muslim candidates entering the poll fray. Secondly, the winnability chances of such aspirants are bleak except for constituencies where 70 per cent of the population is constituted by the Muslims.

While the minority vote is transferable to a candidate who does not belong to their community, the reverse pattern is observed among the majoritarian electorate, opines Bhopal-based professor Hasan Khan.

In 2008, the Congress had fielded 5 Muslim candidates, out of which only 1 emerged the winner. The same pattern was observed in 2003. The BJP, on the other hand, has been consistently fielding only 1 Muslim aspirant from Bhopal (north) since the past two decades.

 

According to Congress leader Arif Masood, the BJP has made some penetration among the Muslim electorate, but the party is viewed with suspicion for their staunch Hindutva stance.

The skepticism surrounding the BJP would make it futile for the saffron party to field more Muslim candidates. The Congress, on the other hand, has been practicing "soft Hindutva", says Muhammad Mahir , convener of the Madhya Pradesh Muslim Vikas Parishad.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 13, 2018 06:32 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).