Congress, Aam Aadmi Party turf war to bite the Muslim vote pie

The outcome of the February 7 Assembly polls could spring a surprise if Muslim voters do not split the way they did in 2013 and scripted the rise of the Aam Aadmi Party as a new force in city politics.

There are 31 seats out of the 70 constituencies where at least 10 per cent of the voters are Muslims, who were once considered the committed vote bank of Congress.

“Muslim voters saw in the AAP a non-corrupt force that offered an alternative to Congress. The BJP has never been the preferred choice of the community known to vote en mass,” a Congress leader said.

The weightage given to Muslims in the city’s politics can be gauged from the fact that Congress has fielded six Muslim candidates, the AAP has given seats to five and the BJP has fielded one.

The BJP realises the uphill task of bringing Muslims into its fold. The inclusion of former AAP leader Shazia Ilmi, a prominent Muslim voice, into the BJP ahead of the polls and a membership drive to enrol about one lakh Muslims by its minority cell headed by Atif Mohammed shows the BJP’s desire to woo the community.

In the 2013 Assembly polls, four out of the Congress’ eight Muslim candidates emerged winners in a massive anti-Congress wave.

It is believed the local heads of the Muslim community meet on the night preceding the voting day and decide which party to back.

The Congress is trying hard to ensure that Muslim votes do not get split. But if the split does take place, nobody would be able to save the party from yet another electoral humiliation.

Seelampur constituency has the largest number of Muslim voters. Almost 50 per cent of the voters in the seat are from the minority community. The Congress has always won this seat. Mateen Ahmed was the winner from here the last time.

Matial Mahal, former legislator Shoaib Iqbal’s pocket borough, has the next high density of Muslim voters. Almost 48 per cent voters here are Muslims. Iqbal joined the Congress from Janata Dal-United just before the announcement of the February 7 Assembly polls. He is known to change parties frequently but has never lost an election since 1993.

Okhla constituency has 43 per cent voters from the Muslim community. Congress candidate Mohammad Asif won from this seat in 2013.

In Ballimaran seat, 38 per cent of voters are Muslim. Even after the boundaries of the constituency were redrawn in the delimitation exercise, Congress heavyweight Haroon Yusuf has been winning the seat for over a decade.

Mustafabad constituency has 35 per cent Muslim voters and it was also won by Congress on the last occasion.

The percentage of Muslim voters in Babarpur is 35 per cent, in Kirari it is 30 per cent, in Seemapuri it is 25 per cent, in Gandhi Nagar it is 22 per cent, in Chandni Chowk 20 per cent, in Vikaspuri 20 per cent and Karawal Nagar 20 per cent.

Trilokpuri constituency, which saw communal clashes in October last year, has 18 per cent voters from the Muslim community.

Other seats that have at least 10 per cent voters from the Muslim community are Adarsh Nagar, Badli, Mundka, Sadar Bazar, Patel Nagar, Uttam Nagar, Jungpura, Malviya Nagar, Sangam Vihar, Badarpur, Kondli, Laxmi Nagar, Krishna Nagar, Shahdara, Rohtash Nagar, Ghonda and Gokulpuri.

In the last elections, the AAP and the BJP managed to win some of these seats. But this time the Congress, under its chief ministerial candidate Ajay Maken, is focused on winning back its traditional voters in Muslim dominated pockets.
DH News Service