Shrinking Muslim footprint: Congress leader’s anger reflects larger picture of Maharashtra politics

At 1.30 crore, Muslims make up 11.56% of Maharashtra’s population, with a higher concentration in Northern Konkan, Khandesh, Marathwada and Western Vidarbha.

The number of Muslim MPs from Maharashtra has never been proportional to their population in the state, since it came into existence in 1960. Of the 614 Lok Sabha MPs elected from the state in the past 64 years, only 15, or less than 2.5%, have been Muslim.

In the past four Lok Sabha elections, a total of five Muslim candidates have fought on the tickets of prominent parties. In 2004, the Congress fielded A R Antulay from Kolaba, and he won. The NCP and Congress nominated one candidate each in 2009, followed by the Congress one each in 2015 and 2019. All of them lost.

The only Muslim MP from Maharashtra currently is the AIMIM’s Imtiaz Jaleel, who won Aurangabad by a narrow margin of 3,000 plus votes in 2019. It was one of the AIMIM’s first forays outside its base in Hyderabad. The AIMIM only contested the Aurangabad seat in 2019, when it had an alliance with the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi; it has said it will put up candidates in four-five seats this time.

Antulay’s win in 2004 from Kolaba, which has a Muslim population of less than 8%, was more a reflection of his own extensive political network in the region.

Asked about the Congress not fielding a Muslim candidate in Maharashtra, party chief Mallikarjun Kharge said at a press conference in Guwahati that it was wrong to put it like this. “It is a three-party alliance there and mutual decisions were taken.” He also suggested that Naseem Khan might be “compensated” in some way.

Later, the Sena (UBT) said that the Congress not fielding a Muslim candidate had nothing to do with the party. “Whom to give a ticket is the prerogative of the Congress. We had not taken any stand regarding whom the Congress should have fielded. If someone says that the Sena opposed Naseem Khan because he is a Muslim, that is a wrong statement. They still have a chance to change their candidate,” Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said.

The number of Muslim MLAs in Maharashtra is also low. Currently, the Assembly has 10 MLAs, or 3.47% of the 288-member House – four from the Congress, two each from the AIMIM and Samajwadi Party, and one each from the NCP and Shiv Sena.

The highest number of Muslim MLAs in the House has been 13, who were elected in 1972, 1980 and 1999.

Till 1984, Muslim leaders would get elected from rural and mixed population Lok Sabha constituencies, including Jalgaon, Akola, Wardha, Chanda and Ratnagiri. However, as the politics in Maharashtra got polarised in the early 1990s, with the BJP rising alongside the Shiv Sena, parties started refraining from fielding Muslims.

The number of Muslim candidates remains negligible despite the community playing a substantial role in 14 of the state’s 48 Lok Sabha constituencies – including Dhule, Nanded, Parbhani, Latur, Aurangabad, Bhiwandi,Akola, Thane and the six seats of Mumbai. In the Mumbai seats, the community makes up 14% to 25% of the local electorate.

In the coming elections, with the Congress aligned with the Shiv Sena (UBT), the Muslim community has also been open to supporting the Bal Thackeray-founded outfit, which was once a taboo.

Ubaid Bahussain, a social activist from Nanded, regrets that what Naseem Khan said about the Congress taking the Muslim vote for granted is true. “While politics is all about winning elections, it also provides parties an opportunity to send a signal. If parties in Maharashtra feel that a Muslim candidate can’t win an election, they could have put up one at least in a seat that they knew they were going to lose. It would signal to the community that they were being given some representation.”

A Muslim MLA from the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance, including the Congress, Sena (UBT) and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), said he had been requesting an MVA Lok Sabha nominee to hold a gathering in a Muslim locality in his constituency – without a response.

“They are so sure about bagging the Muslim vote that they are not interested in even campaigning in Muslim areas,” the MLA said.