By Rajeev Khanna
Ahmedabad(IANS) : Their distaste of Gujarat’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is known. But Muslim voters in the state say they are disenchanted with the Congress as well, and accuse it of taking them for granted.
As assembly elections draw near, leaders and members of the community say they feel politically suffocated because there is no third political force in the state.
Naturally, there is low enthusiasm among them vis-à-vis the Dec 11 and 16 ballot. The main complaint is that no party is interested in giving them due representation in the political landscape.
There is a lot of dissatisfaction that the Congress has fielded just six Muslims in the election. This, some say, is pathetic when there are 182 assembly seats.
“The Congress has given ticket to three Muslim candidates in Ahmedabad. This is not out of any love for the community but because these constituencies have an overwhelming number of Muslim voters,” Sharif Khan Pathan, a builder, told IANS.
The constituencies are Jamalpur, where no non-Muslim has ever won, and the adjoining Kalupur and Shahpur. Muslim voters in the last two constituencies are 60 and 48 percent respectively.
Muslims in the Shah Alam area here say the Muslim candidates contesting on the Congress ticket are not mass leaders but those imposed on them by the party.
They feel that such leaders may win the elections but will not give the community the leadership it needs in Gujarat, particularly in the wake of the 2002 sectarian violence.
In Muslim ghettoes, the common complaint against the BJP is that the party neither campaigns seriously in such areas nor does it make any promises to the Muslims. This is considered a signal that the BJP does not give a damn for Muslim votes.
Builder Pathan said there were several constituencies with a sizeable Muslim presence but all political parties had chosen to ignore them conveniently.
Munna Khan, a resident of Rasoolabad area here, rued: “The parties have only exploited us. Nobody is bothered about our development. The Muslims are simply not interested in the electoral process.”
An elderly man from the area, Abdul Qahar Pathan, added: “We have always been treated like a football on a political field. We had some hopes from the NCP (Nationalist Congress Party) but its leaders have chosen to play second fiddle to the Congress.”
Others alleged that successive governments have not treated them at par with other communities.
Mohammad Shamim, an auto-rickshaw driver here, echoed the community’s thinking: “We want to be treated as human beings, equal to other citizens. We also want to enjoy the fruits of development and be a part of the growth story of India.”
Is someone listening?