Muslim representation in BMC election

By Rehan Ansari, TwoCircles.net,

Mumbai: Political parties, except Samajwadi Party, has spared a few seats for Muslims in the election for 227-seat Mumbai Municipal Corporation, that too after expression of much anger and agitation by Muslim political, religious and social leaders.

Arif Nasim Khan, Minister of Minority Affairs, Maharashtra agitated with the Chief Minister Prithviraj Chauhan when the second list of Congress was declared and only 15 Muslims were given tickets.

Abu Asim Azmi releasing list of candidates

Gulzar Azmi, General Secretary, Jamiat Ulema Hind, (Arshad Madni group) shot a letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi complaining about declining Muslim representation in BMC election.

After much discussion, when Congress declared its final list the tally of Muslim candidates increased to 22 out of its quota of 169 seats due to seat sharing with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Sharad Pawar’s party NCP is fighting on 58 seats out of which it has allotted 10 seats to Muslim candidates.

Yaser Arafat, Vice President of Maharashtra Nav Nirman Sena (MNS) met party chief Raj Thackrey to complain about the lower representation to Muslims. After which, Yaser Arafat, said, “Raj Thackrey allotted two more seats of Shivajinagar and Goavandi, an eastern suburb of Mumbai, to Muslim candidates. MNS distributed 10 seats to Muslims but one more could not produce caste certificate and therefore he cannot fight election. Arafat, however, clarified that MNS had allotted 16 to 18 seats but few of the candidates could not produce their caste certificate and therefore the number went down. Raj Thackrey who formed his own party MNS after the fight with Uddhav Tahckrey can damage the Saffron alliance of BJP and Shiv Sena.

Muslims could not get tickets from BJP-Shiv Sena alliance but its new ally Ramdas Athavley led Republican Party of India has fielded one Muslim candidate Wahid Khan from ward no. 85.

Samajwadi Party, headed by Abu Asim Azmi in Maharashtra, has good support in the Muslim dominated areas, so it has allotted maximum, 64 seats to Muslims out of 123 on which it’s contesting the election.

Muslim candidates of major parties in the Mumbai Municipal Election-2012

Cong-NCP-------SP-----MNS-----BJP-SS-RPI
32------------------64------9----------1

There are 19 Muslim Municipal Corporators in the outgoing Municipal Council of 2007-2012. Congress has 8 corporators, Samajwadi Party 5, NCP 3 and 3 are Independents.