Anti-Muslim rhetoric by right wing groups makes Mumbai's minorities anxious

A Congress leader from Mumbai said the turnout among Muslim voters has significantly improved in the first two phases

MUMBAI: Right wing Hindu outfits have been holding Hindu Jan Akrosh Morchas across Maharashtra for over a year, where provocative speeches against Muslims have been a key component. Leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) followed suit.

Kolhapur, Apr 27 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses during a public meeting for the Lok Sabha polls, in Kolhapur on Saturday. (ANI Photo) (BJP media)

On April 27, PM Narendra Modi reminded voters in Kolhapur that the Karnataka model is “extremely dangerous” as it puts the entire Muslim community in the OBC category, implying that if Congress is voted to power, it can implement the same in the country. “The Congress-led Karnataka government implemented this model overnight and robbed the entire 27% OBC quota by making Muslims its stakeholders,” he alleged.

Three days later, while addressing a rally in Zaheerabad Lok Sabha constituency, in Telangana, he said, “As long as Modi is alive, I will not let reservations of Dalits, Adivasis and OBCs to be given to Muslims on the basis of religion.” When Congress won a record number of MPs and MLAs in undivided Andhra Pradesh in 2004 and 2009, it gave away a slice of the reservation quota of the backward classes to Muslims, he had claimed.

This was a recall of his speech in an election rally in Rajasthan on April 21, when he had implied that Muslims were “infiltrators”, and said if voted to power Congress could give the first rights on the country’s assets to Muslims.

Soon after the announcement of the general elections, Congress’s retort that reservation and democracy of the country are in danger as the BJP is looking to make a constitutional amendment, has rattled both the minority community and the backward classes.

The anti-Muslim stance has made even fence-sitters within the community choosing sides. The main objective now is that the anti-BJP votes should not get divided. Unlike the last two general elections, where the successes of Samajwadi Party, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) resulted in losses to Congress and the undivided NCP, the scenario is different now.

In Solapur where Muslims are in a sizable population, AIMIM could not field its candidate. The reason: local party leaders were under pressure from the community. Subsequently, they threatened mass resignations if the party chose to take such a decision.

There are 17 million Muslims in Maharashtra, and Mumbai has roughly 1.8 million eligible voters. The community resides in dominant pockets such as Bhiwandi, Mira-Bhayander, Mumbra, Malegaon, Dhule city, Amravati, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Nandurbar, among others. The over-arching sentiment here is that Lok Sabha 2024’s course is different from the previous elections – today, they feel “isolated” and “threatened”.

Shabbir Ansari, president, All India Muslim OBC Organisation said, “The community feels targeted given the speeches made by top BJP leaders. In the last two polls, a section of Muslims held a positive sentiment towards BJP, but now, they have decided to support the opposition alliance en-bloc.” Ansari added that while the community voted for AIMIM and VBA in 2019, this time it was not in the mood to “waste its vote and will stand by the MVA”.

Ansari’s sentiment stems from his visit to 21 Lok Sabha constituencies, where except for Sangli in which its choice is independent Vishal Patil, the community is determined to vote against BJP.

“Most influential voters in Hatkanangale have decided to vote for Satyajit Patil Sarudkar (Shiv Sena-UBT candidate from the constituency) this time,” said 25-year-old Mustafa Bagwan, who has just acquired a bachelor’s degree in technology and lives in Shahapur, Ichalkaranji city.

Sarfaraz Arzoo, editor of Urdu daily ‘Hindustan’, said the community will vote for the opposition, especially, Sena (UBT). “In 2014 and 2019, Muslims did vote for BJP and other parties like AIMIM and Samajwadi Party, but this time Thackeray has become their popular choice out of old belief ‘enemy’s enemy is my friend’.”

“Thackeray has been taking on BJP’s top leadership, including PM Modi, without any fear. He has also appealed to Muslims to try his friendship after having tried animosity,” he said.

A Congress leader from Mumbai said the turnout among Muslim voters has significantly improved in the first two phases. “They came out to vote in large numbers in parts of Amravati, Akola, Parbhani and Nanded. While they are not in favour of any one party, they are determined to vote out the ruling dispensation,” he said.

He also said that barring a few “en-bloc votes for the Congress in the past”, the community has been looking for options like the Samajwadi Party, Left, AIMIM and even BJP – evident in the last two elections. “The tide has turned. Since Congress is in alliance with Shiv Sena (UBT), decision making has become easier,” he observed, adding that a Congress MLA in Mumbai was made to remove the pictures and name of a former MP who had recently joined the ruling alliance.

Broadening the scope, Maulana Mehmood Dariyabadi, a Muslim scholar, said that the feeling of unhappiness is “all-encompassing, irrespective of caste and community”.

Amid the rising disenchantment, leaders from social organisations have been creating awareness so that people realise their duty to vote. “We have been working among voters, especially women in the backdrop of the history of the low turnout. There has been an overwhelming response from the community, evidenced in mohallas that have celebrated voting day like Eid and cast their vote before beginning their daily chores,” said Hasina Khan, one of the activists involved in the programme.