Muslim representation reaches 20% in West Bengal Assembly

By Zaidul Haque, TwoCircles.net,

Kolkata: While the Left Front regime has got a humiliating defeat, the Muslim community has made good use of the rush of political parties to win Muslims heart in the just concluded assembly election in West Bengal. The Muslims will now constitute about 20% of the 294 seats of the state assembly. According to the assembly poll results announced yesterday, 59 Muslim candidates have got elected this time, 13 more from the 2006 poll. Among 59, there are 7 women, that is 5 more than the last assembly poll.

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A file picture of West Bengal Legislative Assembly. Photo by The Hindu.com

After 35 years, Red Bengal has been changed into green. CPIM-led Left Front government has been thrown out by the people as they gave huge majority of 226 seats to the Trinamool Congress-Congress alliance in the 294-seat Assembly. Central Railway Minister and Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee swept the Left bastion of West Bengal. The Left has got 61 seats (CPIM 40, CPI 2, All India Forward Block 11, Revolutionary Socialist Party 7 & Samajwadi Party 1).

Trinamool Congress alliance has 40 Muslim MLAs

The number of Muslim MLAs has increased from 46 to 59 in this poll. And it is not surprising that majority of new Muslim MLAs are from the Trinamool alliance. In the previous Assembly, Left Front had 34 Muslim MLAs (CPIM 25, All India Forward Block 4, Revolutionary Socialist Party 4 and West Bengal Samajwadi Party 1). Now it has been decreased to 18 in this poll (CPIM 13, AIFB 2, RSP 2 and SP 1).

The heavy majority of Muslim MLAs now are from Trinamool alliance (TMC 25, Congress 15). Most of them are new faces. Retired Muslim IPS and renowned police officer Haider Aziz Safwi won Uluberia Purba constituency of Howrah district. Retired Judge of Kolkata High Court Justice Noore Alam Chowdhuri has won from Murarai of Birbhum district. Besides, killing of computer designer Rizwanur Rahman was an important election issue of Mamata Banerjee. She had fielded Rizwanur Rahman’s elder brother Rukbanur Rahman and he has won from Chapra seat in Nadia district.

7 Muslim women elected to Assembly

As the number of Muslim MLAs has increased, the number of Muslim women MLAs has also gone up from just 2 in 2006 to 7 in 2011.

In Nandigram byelection in 2009 Phiroja Bibi, whose son was killed during the infamous police firing in the area, had been elected from the constituency on Trinamool Congress ticket. Bibi has retained the seat. Garments industry area of Kolkata is Metiaburuz. Mumtaz Begum has won the seat also on Trinamool ticket. Begum is three time ward councilor in her area. Firdousi Begum, a ward councilor in Sonarpur Uttar constituency of South 24 Parganas, has also won the seat while Mahamuda Begum has got elected from Kumarganj constituency of North Dinajpur district. All four won on TMC ticket. Two Muslim women have won on Congress ticket — Sabina Yasmin form Mothabari of Malda district and Feroza Begum from Raninagar of Murshidabad. CPIM has just one Muslim woman MLA –Jahanara Khatun won from Jamuria of Burdwan district.

Murshidabad elects 15 Muslim MLAs

Of 59 Muslim MLAs, 15 have been elected in Murshidabad district. Will it change the condition of the most backward Muslim dominated district of West Bengal? Only time will tell.

CM lost, so did Muslim ministers

Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee of CPIM lost Jadavpur constituency which he had been winning since 1987. Muslim ministers of Left Front except Abdur Razzak Molla have met the same fate. Minority Affairs & Madrasa Education Minister of State Abdus Sattar lost Amdanga of North 24 Parganas and Agriculture, Marketing & Relief Minister of State Dr Mortaza Hossain lost Deganga of North 24 Parganas while Anwarul Haque, Minister of State, Health and Family Welfare lost his Chopra seat of North Dinajpur

Newly elected Muslim MLAs in West Bengal, 2011