MCD polls: Delhi’s 15 Muslim councillors split between AAP, Congress

Among the 250 newly elected councillors in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), 15 are Muslims, seven of whom are from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and seven from the Congress while one is an independent councillor from Seelampur

Among the 250 newly elected councillors in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), 15 are Muslims, seven of whom are from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and seven from the Congress while one is an independent councillor from Seelampur.

AAP supporters celebrate the party's win in the MCD elections (ANI)

In the 2012 MCD polls there were 15 Muslim winners while in the 2017 MCD polls there were 15 Muslim winners as well (4 in EDMC, 4 in SDMC and 7 in NDMC).

Five of the seven wards that AAP has won are from the walled city -- Mohammad Sadik won from Ballimaran, Shamim Bano from Quresh Nagar, Aley Mohammad Iqbal from Chandni Mahal, Rafia Mahir from Sitaram Bazaar, and Sultana Abad from Zama Masjid ward. Intrestingly, while the AAP performed well in walled city it did not get expected votes in North East Delhi which has a seizable Muslim population and was affected by the communal riots. Only Mohammad Amil Mallik from Sri Ram Colony won from the riot hit areas.

In Okhla assembly constituency, which is governed by the AAP’s Amanatullah Khan, Delhi’s ruling party could not win any of the two Muslim-dominated wards. Congress won the two wards - Nazia Danis won Zakir Nagar while Ariba Khan won from Abu Fazal Enclave. Congress candidate Nazia Khatoon won from Brij Puri, Sabila Begum from Mustafabad, Zarif from Kabir Nagar, Shagufta Chaudhary Zubair from Chauhan Bangar and Samir Ahmed from Shastri Park ward.

Out of the six wards falling under riot-hit areas in north east Delhi which AAP had won in 2017 have slipped out of the AAP’s control. AAP has lost five of the six wards to the BJP and one among it to the Congress (Chauhan Bangar, Shubhash Mohalla, Nehru Vihar, Satadpur (earlier Khajuri Khas), Kardampuri and Nehru Vihar)

The outcome from the Muslim areas throws up a complex picture -- in some Muslim pockets AAP got good support while in others it could not. It suggests that multiple factors were at play including the popularity of the party candidate, and that the people were not happy with the performance of sitting councillors.

Muslim voters in the Abul Fazal ward in Okhla constituency seem to have reverted back to the Congress. Congress candidate Ariba Khan, daughter of former Congress MLA Asif Khan, won the seat with a margin of 1479 votes over AAP candidate and former councillor Wajid Khan. Locals in the area said that the residents were disappointed by Khan, who had failed to resolve the deteoriating sanitation problem in the area. In addition to local civic issues, there was a sentiment among the many voteers that AAP’s was increaingly propagating Hindutva’s idealogy.

Tanvir Aeijaz, associate professor of Political Science at Ramjas College, said: “AAP soft hindutva is not a reflection on the party but on the civil society. It’s turn to soft hindutva is recent. AAP definitely has taken a large electoral base of Congress and has also cut into BJP’s constituency. AAPs welfare subsidies, particularly schools and mohalla clinic, cuts across religious lines and it is that which has made a huge difference. Muslims immediately affected by violence and exclusion, as is the case of North East and Okhla, voted for congress but as a voting strategy it wasn’t a pragmatic move. All parties are playing competitive communalism game and AAP is seen as the weakest in this game. AAPs strength lies in its ability to articulate the welfare subsidies and convert it into potential votes.”

Shahid Ali, a Shaheen Bagh resident, said that Khan had not worked for the area. “In the past few years, major stretches in the area have become garbage dumping sites. Earlier, the situation was not so bad. Asif Mohammad Khan has worked in the area due to which people gave a chance to his daughter,” said Ali. He added that some residents were of the view that the party was similar to BJP. “Some people feel that AAP is the B team of the Congress. However, I am of the view that had the councillor worked for the area, he would have secured a win,” said Ali.

In the Zakir Nagar ward too, Congress secured a seat for the fourth consecutive time. Wife of former counsillor Shoaib Danish, Naziya Danish, won the seat this time. Residents said that a fourth consecutive win despite strong anti-incumbency was a setback for AAP. Sharib Siddiqui, a resident, said that poeople had taken note of the passive role played by AAP during the Delhi riots of 2020. Siddiqui said that the party’s statements calling for printing of photos of gods and goddesses and other statements that aligned with BJP’s political vocabulary also gave an impression that the both BJP and AAP were similar. “AAP has co-opted the BJP’s politics. While BJP articulates its politics, AAP is doing the same thing but silently. People feel that the two parties are two sides of the same coins,” said Siddiqui.