By Zaidul Haque, TwoCircles.net,
Kolkata: The number of Muslim candidates has overall decreased in the 16th Lok Sabha Election, but it has increased from West Bengal. Out of 42 MPs, eight Muslims candidates have won from West Bengal from different political parties.
In the last Lok Sabha, seven Muslims were in the Parliament from the state. According to the 2001 census, nearly 27 percent of the West Bengal population are Muslims.
Mausam Noor (left)
The largest number of Muslim MPs elected in West Bengal are from Trinamul Congress. In 2009, three TMC MPs were Muslims. This time the party had fielded 7 Muslim candidates, out of which 4 have won. They are Sultan Ahmed from Uluberia. He was sitting MP from here. He won with a huge margin of 2,01,22 votes. He got 570785 votes and his nearest rival was CPIM’s Sabiruddin Molla who got 369563 votes.
State President of TMC Minority Cell Advocate Idris Ali won from Basirhat constituency. This is the first time he won any election. His winning margin was 109659. He got 492326 votes and his nearest rival of CPI, Nurul Huda got 382667 votes.
Idris Ali began his political life with Congress. For a long time he was the state chairman of the Congress Minority Cell. He also runs a Muslim organization All India Minority Forum. He contested earlier from Jalangi of Murshidabad on TMC ticket, but lost. He finally succeeded Basirhat this year.
Contesting for the first time, renowned Gynecologist Dr. Mumtaz Sanghamitra also won from Burdwan-Durgapur constituency. Dr Mumtaz was long time Head of the department of Gynecology of Medical College, Kolkata. She is also wife of state Minister Justice (Retd.) Nure Alam Chowdhuy. She is also the only daughter of renowned personality of Marxist Movement in West Bengal and former state Minister Syed Mansur Habibullah. Dr. Mumtaz Sanghamitra’s winning margin was 107331 votes. She got 554521 votes and her nearest rival candidate of CPIM SK Saidul Haque got 447190 votes.
Aparupa Poddar of TMC who recently embraced Islam and changed her name to Afrin Ali has also won from Arambagh (SC). She was Vice-Chairman of Rishra Municipality and presently a Law Practitioner. Afrin Ali has won with a margin of 346845 votes and this is the largest winning margin in West Bengal this time. She got 748764 votes and her nearest rival candidate of CPIM Shaktimohan Mallick got 401919 votes.
Left front had fielded 12 Muslim candidates in the state, but only two of them could win. Both these winning candidates are from the CPIM, and incidentally they are the only candidates from the entire Left Front who won.
Former MP of CPIM, Md Salim won from Raiganj constituency by a low margin of 1634 only. He got 317515 votes and his nearest rival Congress candidate Dipa Dasmunshi got 315881 votes. He was former State Minority Minister and is presently Politburo Member of CPIM.
Another CPIM candidate Badruddoza Khan won from Murshidabad. Badruddoza is the Local CPIM leader who contested for the first time. He won with a margin of 18453 and got 426947 votes. His nearest rival was Congress Abdul Mannan Hossain who got 408494 votes.
Siting Congress MP Mousum Benajir Nur has also been reelected from Malda Uttar. Her winning margin is 65705 votes. She got 388609 votes and her nearest rival candidate of CPIM got 322904 votes. Her maternal uncle Abu Hashem Khan Chowdhury has also been re-elected from Malda Dakshin constituency. His winning margin is 164111 votes and he got 380291 votes. His nearest rival was BJP Bishnupada Roy who got 216180 votes.