By TCN Special Correspondent,
Ahmedabad: A 58-year-old advocate and real estate developer Badruddin Sheikh has been appointed as leader of opposition in the Ahmedabnad Municipal Corporation(AMC).
Sheikh was elected as councilor on Congress ticket from Behrampura ward of the city during civic polls on October 10. Sheikh has been in politics since 1975 and during 2000-2003, he was appointed as chairman of AMC’s standing committee, the powerful body empowered to take decisions regarding developmental projects.
Opposition leader’s post considered to be an important assignment was given to Sheikh because of the crucial role played by Muslim voters in getting elected Congress councilors in the civic polls.
Out of 37 seats bagged by the Congress in a house of 192 in AMC, 20 are Muslims. Muslim voters also played a significant role in winning the remaining 17 seats for the Congress.
Sheikh, who took over the assignment on Sunday when the newly elected body met for the first time, said that though BJP is in power in the civic body, he would try to do his best to ensure that proper civic amenities were provided in Muslim areas as well. Muslim areas have been badly neglected by the BJP in the last 10 years since Narendra Modi took over as chief minister.
Muslim candidates are also likely to be appointed as opposition leaders in Jamnagar, Bhavnagar and Surat as well where the elections were held simultaneously with AMC but the new civic bodies would be formed in December when the term of the present bodies comes to an end.
In Jamnagar, Surat and Bhavnagar, a good number of Muslim candidates won on Congress tickets. In Jamnagar, out of 16 Congress candidates who won, six are Muslims. One of them A A Chaki is a chartered accountant. Chaki has been winning Jamnagar civic elections for the last seven terms, and was appointed opposition leader in 2005 and continues till date. He hopes to be re-appointed as opposition leader by the party because of the crucial role he played for ensuring victory of Congress candidates.
In Surat, five of the 14 Congress candidates having won the polls are Muslims, including a woman. The Muslim councilors are Naeem Rifai, Asad Kalyani, Fatimaben Cheniwala, Mushtaq Soni and Iqbal Belim. According to local Congress Muslim leaders, even the remaining Congress councilors won from areas where there is sizeable presence of Muslim voters. They have taken up the matter with the state party leaders to ensure that the opposition leader be appointed from among the Muslims.
Likewise, in coastal Bhavnagar, four of the 10 Congress councilors elected are Muslims. Out of a total of 57 seats, Muslims were fielded from five seats and four of them won the polls. In Bhavnagar as well, Muslim voters supported the remaining six Congress candidates wholeheartedly leading to their victory.