By Mohamed Atherulla Shariff
A new phase in party politics has emerged in India. In the recently concluded Assembly elections across multiple states, the Indian National Congress (INC) and its allies have recorded notable results among Muslim candidates, even as the party’s overall performance remains mixed. Is it a boost or bane for the Congress party? Whether the party owns the Muslim tag or shy away remains to be seen.
In Assam, 18 out of 19 Congress MLAs are Muslim. The Congress had fielded 20 Muslim candidates in Assam, of whom 18 won. In contrast, just one out of the remaining 79 non-Muslim candidates fielded by Congress managed to win. Congress ally Raijor Dal has won two seats, out of which one is a Muslim.
Congress’s performance highlights strong support among Muslim voters in Assam, with most winning candidates securing margins of around 20,000 votes and over 100,000 in constituencies like Gauripur, Jaleshwar, Samaguri, and Algapur-Katlicherra.
The party contested over 390 seats in Assam and West Bengal and won 21, of which 20 were Muslim candidates.
The grand old party won two seats in West Bengal – both of whom are Muslims from Muslim-dominated seats. In fact, with 63 Muslim candidates, the Congress outdid the TMC in giving tickets to Muslims in West Bengal. The TMC gave tickets to 47 Muslim candidates in the assembly elections.
In Tamil Nadu, Congress nominated two Muslims, of whom one has won.
Kerala has elected 35 Muslim MLAs in an assembly of 140. Out of these 35, as many as 30 are from the Congress-led UDF alliance. Eight Congress MLAs are Muslims and the other 22 of its ally, the Indian Union Muslim League MLAs, are Muslims.
Muslims fielded by Congress alliances in both Kerala and Assam have an 80 per cent winning strike rate, making it obvious that the only community which assured victory to Congress are Muslims. The turnout leading rivals to claim the party has transitioned into a “Muslim League”.
Had the party fielded a Muslim candidate in Davangere South by-elections in Karnataka, the winning margin could have been much higher and avoided the disgruntlement among Muslims that has surfaced now costing two of the community leaders their respectable positions in the party.
