No ‘winners’ among Muslims for BJP

In 1980, the BJP’s Kasim Achhwa lost the Rakhial Assembly seat to the Congress’s Prabodh Raval.

In 1980, the BJP’s Kasim Achhwa lost the Rakhial Assembly seat to the Congress’s Prabodh Raval. Fifteen years later, the BJP fielded Abdul Gani Kureshi from Vagra and he lost to his Congress rival, Iqbal Patel, by 26,439 votes. The BJP’s list of Muslim candidates ended there.

According to the 2001 Census, of the state’s total population of 50,671,071, the Hindu population stood at 45,143,074 and the Muslims’ share was 4,592,854. According to Yamal Vyas, the BJP’s joint spokesperson, the party could not put up a single ‘winning’ candidate from among the 9.06 per cent Muslims in the state. “We scan our candidates from the grassroots-level, but no Muslim name which suits our criteria surfaced in our meetings,” says Vyas.

Interestingly, the party’s minority cell convener Sajjad Hira could not even recollect the names of the two minority candidates the party had fielded in 1980 and 1995. “We did field one from Vagra,” he said. When asked about Achhwa, he admitted he didn’t know the “details”.

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Senior BP leader Surendra Patel too admitted he couldn’t remember when Achhwa was fielded. “That was long ago. I don’t remember when,” he said.

Anyway, the Muslims in the state are not really complaining. “We don’t expect a party like the BJP to field Muslim candidates,” said Maulana Safi Madani, President of the Gujarat wing of the Jamiat-e-Islami-Hind. “But why talk of the BJP alone, the Congress, too, is playing divisive politics, splitting the electorate on the lines of communities and castes. But at least they have given six seats to minorities,” he said. While the Congress has fielded Muslims from five of the six seats, the party has put up Dr Parshottam Harvani, a Sindhi, from Naroda.

Mahammad Hussain Mummy, national secretary of the NCP minority cell, too said all parties were equally responsible for denying tickets to Muslims. “The BJP has not fielded Muslims in the state, but over the years, the Congress has also cut down on tickets to minorities,” he said. “At one point, there were about 17 sitting Muslim MLAs in Gujarat,” he said.

Mummy’s party, the NCP, recently witnessed an exodus of members on the issue of allotment of ticket to minority candidates. Mummy had earlier demanded at least two tickets for the community, which the party didn’t give. A rebellion followed and eight state-level workers left the party and joined the BSP under the leadership of Gajjukhan Pathan.

Muslim candidates (CONGRESS, 2007)

Wankaner: Javed Pirzada

Shahpur: Gyasuddin Shaikh

Kalupur: Faruque Shekh

Jamalpur: Sabir Kablivala

Vagra: Iqbalbhai Patel