By Mohd. Ismail Khan TwoCircles.net,
Ahmedabad: On the main roads of Jamalpura in Ahmedabad Bus Rapid Transit System, under construction corridors create a traffic flutter. Taking on side narrow routes in Jamalpur one reaches a huge ghetto of Chippa Muslim community. In the middle of the ghetto incumbent MLA Sabebhai Kabliwala is busy interacting with a group of Hindu men who were pledging him their support.
Saberbhai then got into his 1970’s modified office in the midst of 2000 Chippa community households which can very well influence the result for Jamalpura Khadia Assembly seat.
Saberbhai who has real estate construction business, hails from the same community and has been Jamalpura’s MLA for two terms, on the Congress ticket winning by an easy majority. He was first elected in 2002 in a by-election in Jamalpura after its MLA Osmanbhai Dewdiwala passed away with heart attack.
This time, however, he has been denied the Congress ticket from Jamalpur Khadia. The rifts between the party and Saberbhai were growing since last municipal election when his close aides were not allotted party’s tickets. He then openly revolted against the party and allegedly supported BJP candidates.
Even few days before the assembly election dates were announced news were rolling that Saberbhai Kabliwala is going to join BJP. Apart from Nardendra Modi attending his daughter’s wedding reception, Congress raised its eyebrows when Saberbhai visited Modi’s camp office twice with a Chippa Muslim community delegation.
Although he claims that it was only to raise the weaver community’s issues, after his visits he was made the State Waqf Board member.
The Congress waited for the BJP to declare its list of candidates, and then decided to this time give opportunity to a young face – 25 year old Sameer Khan Pathan, son of Gujarat Congress minority cell president Vazeer Khan Pathan.
Now Saberbhai accuses the Congress Party of conspiring to ‘finish’ Muslim representation in the assembly and accuses the senior Congress leader and chief minister hopeful Shankersinh Vaghela of being the ‘main conspirator’ and even accuses Ahmed Patel of siding with Vaghela.
Saberbhai said he was honest, upright MLA who always raised Muslim issues within the party and in the assembly. He also alleged that his ‘non-compromising stand on Muslim issues’ has made him earn the wrath of senior party leaders.
He also added that many Muslim leaders in Gujarat are becoming ‘slaves’ of senior mainstream party leaders which is effecting the political influence of the community.
Saberbhai also claimed that he met Ahmed Patel in Delhi about three months before the election to inform him about the ‘conspiracy’ going on in Gujarat Congress to ‘side-line’ Muslim candidates, but he received mute response, he alleges.
Saberbhai who is now up against lads of powerful Congress and BJP leaders is sure that he is going to regain his constituency. Although Congress has fielded a Muslim candidate Saberbhai said that there is no chance of split of Muslim votes. To argue his point Kabliwala said Congress Muslim candidate is just a ‘kid,’ a ‘political novice’ and most importantly an ‘outsider’, who doesn’t have any support from the local Muslim community.
But if Muslim votes split, it can very well get in the favor of BJP candidate Bhushan Bhatt.
Vazeer Khan Pathan is a senior Congress leader, who for 10 years now has been party minority cell president and considered very close to Sonia Gandhi’s political advisor Ahmed Patel.
Pathan hails from Visnagar in Mehsana district in northern Gujarat. He once contested sidhpur seat at Patan district in 1995 and pulled nearly 34,000 votes. Sidhpur has influential Muslim base, and according to Saberbhai Sidhpur assembly seat was to be allotted to Vazeer Khan.
But due to an alleged settlement the Sidhpur seat is being allotted to Blawantsinh Rajput, relative of Shankersinh Vagela. And Vazeer Khan was given opportunity to contest from Jamalpura Khadia a safe seat for a Muslim candidate which he in turn transferred to his son.
25 year old Sameer Khan Pathan, spotting a leather jacket on a white Kurta, tries to fit in a new age of yuva netas brigade of Rahul Gandhi. Few years back he was elected as a municipal councilor from a ‘safe seat’ in Juhupura Muslim dominated area in Ahmedabad.
At the public meeting at inauguration of his party head office near municipal building at Jamalpura, both the Pathans targeted the BJP Government and tried to neglect their main vote splinter Saberbhai, showcasing that their direct competition is with Bhushan Bhatt of BJP.
Congress has committed base workers in Jamalpura and Sameer khan Pathan, on which junior Pathan is pinning hope despite him being labeled a ‘political novice’ and an outsider by his rival. He also has the advantage of hailing from the family of a senior party leader.
On the other hand BJP’s candidate Bhushan Bhatt is neither a political novice nor an outsider. He was MLA from Hindu majority Khadia constituency, which has now been merged with Jamalpura to form Jamalpura Kahdia.
His father late Ashok Bhatt was MLA from Khadia since 1975. After his sudden demise Bhushan contested in the by-election and won by a narrow margin of 2,000 votes.
Locals say unlike his father Ashok Bhatt is not very close to Muslim voters and will have a tough time in acquiring minority votes. Political analysts believe that if Bhushan gets at least 10-20% of Muslim votes in addition to his Hindu vote base, then he can win Jamalpur Khadia by narrow margin.
In the ongoing tussle of power the local Chippa community members are now worried that they may eventually be the ultimate loser, besides further reducing the already low Muslim representation in the state assembly.