09 cover story

COVER STORY

The Majority Goes to the BJP, Only 23 Muslim MPs in the New Lok Sabha The people of India have voted for change, the change must come. For right wing parties like BJP and Shiv Sena it is a golden opportunity to rule India for 5 years.

By M. Burhanuddin Qasmi and A.Hameed Yousuf

T

he 16th Lok Sabha elections have thrown up unexpected results.

The people have voted decisively for change. Even the BJP was surprised at the overwhelming mandate given by the people in its favour. After teetering on the serrated edges of hope and despair during the misrule of UPA 2, the people of the nation now stand at the crossroads. The burden of expectations has risen for the new government and it faces many challenges on many fronts such as rising prices, inflation,

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unemployment, corruption and has to usher in reforms to boost the economy.

The writing on the wall was quite bold and clear that the days of Congress rule in the centre were numbered, ever since the results of assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chattisgarh and Delhi in 2013 were out, thanks to the existence of Aam Aadmi Party which put a brake against BJP’s sweep in Delhi. Thus, the Congress was already prepared for a humiliating defeat, even before the Modimania actually began to rule the waves.

It is a fact that the sustained

campaign against corruption by the Aam Aadmi Party galvanized the voters to opt for a decisive change and the advantage went to the BJP. Most of the disgruntled voters did not see any hope for change in the Aam Aadmi Party and they rooted for the BJP. This general election result was actually an assortment of three factors – anger against misrule, corruption and lack of performance of Congress on the one hand, the religious polarization of majority, high-tech and high-profile systematic campaign of BJP along with RSS-VHP door to door counseling while

COVER STORY

It is a glaring fact that the BJP, which calls itself a national party, did not give any ticket to Muslim candidates. In its total tally of 282, there is not even one Muslim winner. marketing Mr. Modi as a brand for development and Hindutva on the other hand, and the extraordinary media hype favouring a particular type of corporate politics with repeated negative feedings against the Congress as the third factor; these together created a silent volcano of anger and resentment against the Government which ultimately exploded on 16th May, 2014 making the Indian National Congress bite the dust. It was an historic defeat of the Congress rather than an historic win of the BJP. Minorities in India or precisely Muslims were considered to be the key players in the electoral arithmetic of the nation but this time around this very idea is exposed negatively.

However for the catastrophic defeat of so-called secular forces across the nation, Muslim are not to be blamed, as they generally voted tactically even in Bihar. It was the secular forces which did not work to reduce the split in their respective vote bastion and failed to put a check on the majority against polarization. Nevertheless, UP Muslim leadership— religious, social and political, should share responsibility for the very low representation of Muslims in the 16th Lok Sabha. They failed to send even a single Muslim to the legislative house this time.

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It is a glaring fact that the BJP, which calls itself a national party, did not give any ticket to Muslim candidates. In its total tally of 282, there is not even one Muslim winner.

The number of Muslim MPs have come down in the new Lok Sabha. There will be only 23 Muslim MPs including two women and two Maulanas as opposed to 30 in the last Lok Sabha. It simply means that a population of 14 percent has only 4 percent representation in the law making process this time. Muslims of

16th May, 2014 made the Indian National Congress bite the dust.

It was an historic defeat of the Congress rather than an historic win of the BJP. the West Bengal state have increased their tally, similarly Muslims in Assam, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala have voted smartly unlike those in Uttar Pradesh.

UP failed to send even single Muslim to parliament It is for the first time that from Uttar Pradesh, where Muslims are at least 18 percent of the total population, not a single MP from the community was sent to the Lok Sabha. Generally, there have been 8 to 12 Muslims in the Lok Sabha from the state.

In the previous Lok Sabha elections as many as seven Muslim candidates— three from Congress and four from BSP had won from UP. The major regional political parties BSP, SP and Congress fielded 41 Muslim candidates in the 16th Lok Sabha elections. In addition to them were the candidates from small parties like Peace Party of India, Rashtriya Ulama Council and AAP. But not a single Muslim could win!

Unexpectedly here in UP, too, the so-called secular parties were nowhere against the BJP which bagged 71 of the total 80 seats. The negative polarization of Hindu votes in favour of the party gave it the chance to write its history in the state.

It was something unexpected also for the BJP itself as stated by its UP election head Amit Shah, including others. People have been stunned to see that the party faired far better compared to 1998 Lok Sabha elections when the polarization of votes due to demolition of Babri Masjid was at its peak. Analysts who knew that then the BJP had got 57 of the 85 seats in undivided UP now find it difficult to digest the present outcome. “Was there some tampering with the EVMs?” they ask.

More surprisingly the BJP won from all the 21 seats where Muslim population is more than 10 per cent. Major Muslim dominated seats such Saharanpur, Rampur, Sambhal, Moradabad, Muzaffarnagar, Kairana, Baghpat, Bijnor, and Amroha witnessed multiple Muslim candidates resulting in splitting of votes which ultimately went in favour of the BJP. However, the division of Muslim votes is not a new phenomenon. But this time it worked

COVER STORY tremendously in favour of the BJP as almost all Hindus voted for it. In this context, it cannot be ignored that the BJP which ventured in the field raising slogans of development had later turned back to its old political agendas; the most prominent of them being the Ram Temple issue.

“Hindutva and the pitch for development together formed a magic formula which helped the BJP solve the complex arithmetic of castecentric politics in Uttar Pradesh,” writes India Today.

Then there were Hindus voting for the BJP transcending caste barriers. BJP, a party of the upper castes and corporate savvy urban voters, won 16 of the 17 reserved constituencies in the state.

Barring some Yadavs, the vote bank of Mulayam, and Harijans, the permanent vote bank of Mayawati, the low-caste votes went to the BJP! It reveals how Mayawati could not win even a single seat in Uttar Pradesh. A section of Muslims and Harijans did vote for BSP but other low caste Hindus swerved to the BJP. Muslims deserted the BSP mainly due to the fear that she would join hands with the BJP after elections are finished. They could not forget that Mayawati had campaigned in favour of Modi in Gujarat and that she had once rescued the Kalyan Singh-led BJP government in Uttar Pradesh.

However what may be consoling for the party is that it finished second in 33 of the 80 constituencies. And among the runner-ups there were many Muslim candidates from BSP. Besides BSP, the Samajwadi Party, too, could not win the trust of Muslims.

Netaji’s occasional praise for 23 EASTERN CRESCENT | JUNE 2014

the BJP and advice to his party workers that they should learn discipline from the BJP backfired for his party. This could not bring upper caste Hindus in the fold of SP, but it made Muslim community apprehensive about the future plans of the SP. The biggest spoiler for the Mulayam’s ambitious plan were the Muzaffarnagar riots which allegedly took place due to laxity of the Akilesh led-government. Besides, Muslims were unhappy with him after he had dubbed the refugees of the riot victims as the “BJP and Congress agents”. The 13 Muslim candidates fielded by the SP lost the battle. The SP’s poster boy Azam Khan went to sightseeing in Europe and Gulf when his community wanted him to stand strongly on their side. And more so he was portrayed by the national media as the single villain in the UP arena. Thus, the SP’s ‘Muslim leader’ could not even save his home seat Rampur from their arch rival.

Congress ka hath aam aadmi se door

The Congress which had gained by an astonishing performance during the 2009 elections was expected to at least repeat it. But its condition in UP was not different from that in whole of India. The nine Muslim candidates who stood from the Congress, all of them lost. The anger against the Congress was deeply rooted in the perception that it is not different from the BJP when it comes

to providing security to Muslims.

Besides Muslims being killed in the riots that were taking place during Congress regime, hundreds of youth from the community were arrested during its rule for no crimes.

Congress, the single largest national party, which has ruled India for several decades, was blanked out in 7 states. Even the BSP and the DMK

The Congress which had gained by an astonishing performance during the 2009 elections was expected to at least repeat it. But its condition in UP was not different from that in whole of India. failed to open their account. This lopsided result does not bode well for the nation’s polity. By concentrating on only the Hindu vote, the BJP cannot hope to develop an equitable society that leaves out of reckoning the 20 crore Muslims of the nation.

It is regretting though that till date, following 67 years of independence, Muslims have to vote mainly on the basis of their security concerns rather than development or civic issues. The development and education agenda remained secondary to Muslims even in this election too.

They have been voting to keep the communal forces away from power for years. But this time they have failed miserably and have badly exposed their electoral strength too.

The debacle of the secular parties and of the Muslim representation is just due to Muslims not voting tactically for them.

Therefore the Muslim candidates

COVER STORY whom these parties had fielded, none of them could reach Parliament.

In many of the seats a section of Muslims, due to the feeling of having been deceived by SP, BSP and Congress on a regular basis, tried to experiment the new arrivals like Aam Aadmi Party and others. Muslims votes, which would play key role in deciding the fate of secular parties, was split badly leaving the parties and the Muslim candidates they fielded in an abyss.

This is a lesson for Muslims and also for the secular parties.

Muslims should not be swayed by emotions; they should vote wisely.

And the secular parties no longer should take the community lightly or it may turn to other alternatives as it did in this elections. It is high time for the Congress, BSP and SP stopped considering Muslims as just vote banks. If the community has ability to make them winners, then it can also cause their defeat.

A few years are left in the rule of the Samajwadi Party. It can take back the confidence of Muslims by fulfilling the promises it made during the election campaigns for the 2012 assembly elections.

For right wing parties like BJP and Shiv Sena it is a golden opportunity to rule India for 5 years.

If the NDA government works for inclusive development and ensures peace, equal justice and security of the minorities, there is nothing to stop it from one more term at least following 2019. Else in a democracy the same electorate which has given the NDA an overwhelmingly decisive mandate can again bring it to the dust.

The people of India have

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voted for change. Thus the change must come.

New York Times “Discrimination against Muslims in India is so rampant that many barely muster outrage when telling of the withdrawn apartment offers, rejected job applications and turned-down loans that are part of living in the country for them. As a group, Muslims have fallen badly behind Hindus in recent decades in education, employment and economic status, with persistent discrimination a key reason. Muslims are more likely to live in villages without schools or medical facilities and less likely to qualify for bank loans.

Now, after a landslide electoral triumph by the Bharatiya Janata Party of Hindu nationalists, some Muslims here said they were worried that their place in India could become even more tenuous.”

“Even Dalits and Yadavs voted for Modi.

Muslims alone cannot change things as they are in minority. Hindus united in favour of Modi and not BJP.” Maulana Arshad Madani, president Jamiat Ulama-e Hind (A)

“It looks, while Muslim votes got divided, the Hindu votes transcended caste barriers and voted overwhelmingly for the BJP.” Maulana Mahmood Daryabad, General Secretroy, All India Ulama Council.

“BSP’s arithmetic could not work. It fielded 17 Dalit candidates, 15 Other Backward Class candidates, 19 Muslims, 21 Brahmins and eight Thakurs. But a section of Muslims, especially Shia, and also of Dalits appears to have gone to the BJP”.

Maulana Mohammad Afzal Qasmi, Lecturer Blackburn College, UK

“United efforts were required and secular parties did not pay any heed. In the end secular votes were divided.”

Syed Ahmad Bukhari, Imam Jama Masjid Delhi

COVER STORY

Muslim MPs to the 16th Lok Sabha 1. ASADUDDIN OWAISI, All India Majlis-e Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh)

10. TARIQ HAMED KARRA, Jammu & Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Srinagar (J&K)

2. MAUL. BADRUDDIN AJMAL, All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), Dhubri (Assam)

11. E. AHAMED, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), Malappuram (Kerela)

3. SIRAJUDDIN AJMAL, All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), Barpeta (Assam)

12. E. T. MOHAMMED BASHEER, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), Ponnani (Kerela)

4. TASLEEM UDDIN, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Araria (Bihar)

13. M I SHANAVAS, Indian National Congress (INC), Wayanad (Kerela)

5. TARIQ ANWAR, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Katihar (Bihar)

14. MOHAMMED FAIZAL P.P., Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Lakshadweep (Lakshadweep)

6. CHOUDHARY MAHBOOB ALI KAISER, Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), Khagaria (Bihar)

15. ANWAR RAJA. A, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), Ramanathapuram (Tamil Nadu)

7. Maul. MOHAMMAD ASRARUL HAQUE Qasmi, Indian National Congress (INC), Kishanganj (Bihar) 8. MEHBOOBA MUFTI, Jammu & Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Anantnag (J&K) 9. MUZAFFAR HUSSAIN BAIG, Jammu & Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Baramulla (J&K)

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19. DR. MAMTAZ SANGHAMITA, ll India Trinamool Congress (AITC), Burdwan窶電urgapur (West Bengal) 20. MAUSAM NOOR, Indian National Congress (INC), Maldaha Uttar (West Bengal) 21. BADARUDDOZA KHAN, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Murshidabad (West Bengal) 22. MD. SALIM, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Raiganj (West Bengal) 23. SULTAN AHMED, All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), Uluberia (West Bengal)

Muslim Members in Previous Lok Sabhas:

1 Lok Sabha: 22 2 Lok Sabha: 19 3 Lok Sabha: 26 4 Lok Sabha: 28 5 Lok Sabha: 32 16. APARUPA PODDAR (AFRIN 6 Lok Sabha: 33 ALI), All India Trinamool Congress 7 Lok Sabha: 51 (AITC), Arambagh (West Bengal) 8 Lok Sabha: 48 9 Lok Sabha: 31 17. IDRIS ALI, All India Trinamool Congress 10 Lok Sabha: 21 (AITC), Basirhat (West Bengal) 11 Lok Sabha: 24 12 Lok Sabha: 27 18.

ABU HASEM KHAN 13 Lok Sabha: 30 CHOWDHURY, Indian National Congress (INC), 14 Lok Sabha: 32 Maldaha Dakshin (West Bengal) 15 Lok Sabha: 30