By Abdul Hameed, TwoCircles.net,
The Urdu newspapers of Mumbai with a considerable part of the front pages devoted to the political advertisements have become the ‘battle ground’ for the politicians especially those contesting from the six Lok Sabha constituencies in Mumbai (South, South Central, North Central, North East, North West and North). It is tragic that these ads sometimes seem to be attacking someone’s personal life. Much to worsen the situation even some esteemed newspapers are making money out of such low level advertisements. Besides political rallies and road shows etc. these ads and announcements of Ulama and imams of mosques often accompanied with their photos to support party of their choice, are some of the means political leaders are using to win the public opinion in their favor.
Seemingly ‘the more advertisements the more chances of win’ is something in which the politicians have firm belief and are thereby trying to emerge triumphant in the newspapers game though not in the election battle. Having nearly 16 lakh voters post-delimitation newly formed North-West constituency of Mumbai is much discussed in the Urdu newspapers and advertisements. With Congress not fielding a Muslim candidate in Mumbai, Samajwadi Party has fielded firebrand speaker Abu Asim Azmi from North-West Mumbai constituency. Azmi is pitted against the Congress leader Gurudas Kamat. Both the parties have waged a bitter war in the Urdu newspapers.
Though there are Gajanand Kirtikar of Shiv Sena and Shalini Tai Thackeray of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena in the field also the real fight is expected between Azmi and Kamat. In the constituency the Muslims and North Indians account for nearly half of the total 15, 83,448 voters.
The campaign waged by the Urdu Times Daily has unnerved the leader of Samajwadi Party Abu Asim Azmi so much so that early in the morning he purchased all the copies of the Newspaper from every stall of the constituency (North West Mumbai) so that people may not know what his bad deeds are. … but people are not foolish. They know everything and will tell in the election,’ writes the famous newspaper Urdu Times in its April 23 edition.
In the very edition it adds, ‘Abu Asim Azmi, the LS candidate of Samajwadi Party goes to people and claims that his business has been affected due to his services for the community.’ Commenting on it the paper writes, ‘…when he (Azmi) was fighting in the assembly elections he showed the property of five crore. But the affidavit he filed in the present LS elections shows his property as 124 crore. If his business has been affected then how his property was increased instead of decreasing?’
Notably, the candidate claims to be well wisher of Muslims and the North Indians too.
It is not only the Urdu newspapers and political advertisements that have muddied the election campaigns but Ulama and imams of mosques have in fact made the water murkier. They have an interesting job nowadays to hold a meeting, announce to support party A or party B and be published in the newspapers. Notwithstanding, the candidates think that these religious leaders still have hundreds of Muslim voters behind them. So, why to ignore them?
‘In Pathanwadi, Mumbai rally of Gurudas Kamat huge number of Ulama participated and they decide to boycott Samajwadi Party’; a news story of the Urdu Times Daily reads.
A press release of SP published in newly introduced Sahafat Mumbai says, ‘In North West Constituency Ulama and imams of mosques to support SP’.
‘Hundreds of ulamas of All India Ayimma Masajid Council announce support for Priya Dutt (Congress-NCP-RPI candidate from North Central Mumbai)’ reads a news piece in Daily Inquilab.
It will be difficult for a common Muslim voter to make the right choice. If to follow Ulama, as usually done in religious matters, then they are with every party. Their attitude nowadays shows how much sincere they are in the appeals from stages to vote for only one party. On other side, see the advertisement and every candidate will turn out to be selfish and opportunist.