By TCN News
New Delhi: All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat has appealed to the Muslims of Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal to not only ensure the installation of secular governments in their states but also raise Muslim level of representation in state assemblies.
These states are going to polls in April to elect members for new Assemblies. Mushawarat guideline make notes of the fact that in all these states Muslims have been consistently under-represented in the Assemblies. Mushawarat wants local Muslims to participate in elections and send articulate and effective MLAs “who are sensitive to the problems faced by the community.”
Mushawarat has always advised Muslims to vote for most-winnable secular candidate. In this election, where there are a number of consistencies with significant Muslim population, Mushawarat president Syed Shahabuddin proposed that Muslims should form Representative Election Committee at the local level which should examine all candidates and then take all possible steps to ensure that preferred candidates wins the election.
The Mushawarat has already circulated a Charter of Demands and Aspirations for West Bengal, which has been submitted to the major alliances, namely, the Left Front and the TMC – INC alliance. The Mushawarat chapters in Tamil Nadu, Assam and Kerala have been advised to formulate similar Charters based on local problems and priorities and submit them to the major secular parties/ alliances in the field with the request that they field Muslim candidates from constituencies which are Muslim-winnable, in proportion to their population in the State, and acceptable to the Muslim community.