By Mohd Ismail Khan, TwoCircles.net,
Solapur: Majlis-e-Itehaudl Muslimeen (MIM) entry in Maharashtra assembly elections is generating lot of debate among its cynics and supporters alike. But the party riding on firebrand leadership of Owaisi brothers is certainly raising a storm by their massive public meetings and road shows in Muslim dominated seats.
MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi has cleverly chosen former Home Minister and Congress stalwart Sushil Kumar Shinde’s own man – Taufeeq Sheikh – to make inroads into Solapur for the October 15 polls.
Taufeeq Sheikh at his office.
Solapur is one among the many Muslim dominated urban spaces where MIM has fielded its candidates. MIM’s election performance here is vital given its proximity to northern Karnataka region, where the party is looking to expand in the next course. Solapur city (Central) is currently represented by Pariniti Shinde, Shinde’s daughter.
Among the firsts to get MIM ticket, Taufeeq is popularly known in town as ‘Don’ or with lesser flair as ‘Pehelwan’. He has been a municipal councilor in Solapur Corporation while his elder brother Asif Sheikh was the Mayor (as Congress leaders). Before resigning from Congress, over what he calls “Congress double standards against Muslims”, he held the post of city minorities’ cell chairman.
Local political observers TCN spoken to said, MIM couldn’t have found any better dominant candidate against other heavyweights. But Pehelwan comes with his baggage. While young Muslim voters in Solapur city are excited to vote for a powerful Muslim candidate of their ‘own’ party, elders who are not yet carried away in Owaisi frenzy are skeptic about Taufeeq’s do number ka dhanda (apparent reference to alleged malpractices in business).
Crowd in Akbaruddin Owaisi’s public meeting.
Mr. Taufeeq has varied interest of business through his Taj group, which also doubles up as a charitable trust for his family. Both Akbaruddin and Asaduddin Owaisi have campaigned for Taufeeq in Solapur and addressed mammoth public meetings at Solapur Home Ground.
A local political observer told TCN that home ground is often reserved for public meetings of giant politicians such as (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi or (Congress president Sonia) Gandhi, but it was the first time that a big political congregation of Muslims was held at Solapur in form of Owaisi’s election meetings. This has helped play a big role to boost Muslims morale to vote for ‘their’ candidate.
Praniti Shinde, who won the seat in 2009 with over 30,000 vote’s margin, is seen having tough time to retain her family bastion. Fear loomed large over her that in the strong anti-Congress wave, Solapur voters might reject her as was her father during the Lok Sabha election.
Raising the bar for her is the rebellion by her father’s former loyalists, who felt neglected after transition of leadership by Shinde senior. Mahesh Kote, former right hand man of Shinde senior, is contesting on Shiv Sena ticket, while Taufeeq, who used to play an instrumental role in pulling Muslim votes for Shinde family, is keen on dividing the vote for his own takeaway.
Giving tough fight to Praniti is another woman BJP candidate Ms. Mohini Patki, a sociology professor and BJP’s state women’s wing chairperson. The communists too, with their free housing promises, are raising their head in Solapur with former CPM MLA Adam Narasayya hopeful of backing by local Telugu diaspora to retain turf in an all out divided fight.
Praniti Shinde’s posters outside Solapur Congress headquater.
But Taufeeq Sheikh seems least worried. This Pehelwan with a sweet smile explains that he can win the seat on his own with the Muslim support. His cabin office, located at ‘Nai Zindagi’ a dense Muslim dominated semi-slum, gives an impression of a photo studio, with flicks of Pehelwan and his elder brother with different district leaders hanging on the walls.
Talking to TCN, Taufeeq Sheikh said the reason for his leaving Congress and jumping into
MIM’s identity politics bandwagon is a personal pain. “For long, I have personally and closely witnessed that Muslims have been used only as a vote bank by Congress but my community’s issues have never been addressed.” He claims to have blessings of the community elders in Solapur and only with their consultation, joined MIM, which he describes, as only party “striving to work for Muslims.”
Warding off fears about a possible communal polarization MIM might create, he said: “People will vote for the candidate not just for the party, they will vote for my image.”
On the one hand MIM activists are drumming the long told myth of over 1 lakh Muslim votes in Solapur city (Central) , but on the other hand, a survey by MIM’s own candidate based on poll booth data clearly shows there are approximately 2,76,000 voters in Solapur city (Central) out of which only 72,914 are Muslim.
Pehelwan rejected the notion that in the event of his loss or BJP or Shiv Sena win, he might be castigated for dividing Muslim votes and answered: “Except few shares here or there, Muslims are supporting MIM and I will win the election by Allah’s blessings.”
“Through my charity group Taj, I have worked for every community, so I am confident of getting other community votes too,” he added.
Apart from promising better representation for community in state assembly and making promises on host of other social and economic issues, the MIM is also using emotional community matters to pull city Muslims on one ground. Major poll issues include: reopening of a century old headquarter police station mosque which was closed by the police for ‘security reasons’, the recent terror arrest of Muslim youths by MP ATS during Shinde’s tenure as union home minister and the killing of local resident and techie Mohsin Sheikh in Pune by Hindu Rashtra Sena.
MIM critics believe the kind of support the party is harboring, even if it does not result in a victory at assembly polls, it can very well abet an outstanding rise ahead of the Solapur municipal corporation elections due next year.