Keeping Muslim support intact for Cong a tough task for Khurshid Saiyed

This is quite a challenge,however underplayed by the Congress,and Saiyed will have to overcome it fast because he will need to run against time due to the fast approaching general elections.

Coming to grips with ground situation in other states will be time-consuming,but without doing that,resolving their internal issues would be a hard job. It is here that inputs from his predecessor Imran Kidwai will come handy. Kidwai admits,“Saiyed may have initial problems,but we will all work with him,it is not like once he takes over,we will distance ourselves and leave him to fend for himself.”

On the BJP onslaught of capturing Muslim votes,he said this wasn’t entirely true. “Challenges do exist for us in the Congress to retain Muslim support because of some communication gap between the party and the Muslims,” he said,while

admitting that in any case,BJP manages to capture around four per cent

Muslim votes,“but most of them are drawn to that

party for the sake of their business interests”.

BJP national minority morcha president Rashid Ansari said that the change of guard in AICC minority department was an internal matter of that party.

“If they so wish,they may continue living in dreams but the reality is that they have lost much of the ground,” Ansari said,when told that the AICC did not think that Muslims joining the BJP in large numbers could pose any formidable challenge to the Congress.

Brimming with confidence,Saiyed,who is going to Delhi on October 24,brushed aside potential challenges that may face him or the Congress in thwarting BJP’s overtures to the Muslims and other minority communities.

“All they are claiming or showing to people about roping in the Muslims to their side is no more than false propaganda,which is my first job to counter. A proof of my competence will reflect in Assembly election results in five states shortly and in the Lok Sabha election in 2014,” he added.

About turning of the entire Muslim dominated Salaya municipality in Jamnagar district to the BJP,he said,“It was a case of cheating and rigging with the help of official machinery.”