Connect with us
Saturday,29-March-2025
Breaking News

Politics

AIMIM to give a fight to Congress in Gujarat

Published

on

 The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen’s (AIMIM) entry into Gujarat politics may not have a significant impact but it is definitely going to affect the Congress party.

Muslim community leaders fear that if the AIMIM puts up its candidates in Muslim dominated seats, their representative strength will fall further in the state assembly. Once there were at least eight Muslim MLAs in the state assembly. The number has fallen to three after the 2017 assembly elections.

AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi visited Gujarat on Sunday and Monday and addressed two public meetings, one in Ahmedabad and another in Chhapi in Vadgam taluka of Banaskantha district.

The venues of the meetings clearly indicate that the party is targeting constituencies where the Congress has a presence and its representatives have got elected. Chhapi is the place where the biggest protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Register of Citizens had taken place.

Chhapi falls under Vadgam assembly constituency which is reserved for Scheduled Castes. Jignesh Mevani got elected in 2017 as an independent MLA from here and has now joined the Congress.

The Muslim population in the state is 58.47 lakh – 9.67 % of the total population. Going by these numbers, it should have 18 representatives in the assembly.

There are at least 20 assembly seats where Muslims have a more than 20 per cent vote share, but hardly two to three Muslims get elected to the assembly. “Now if AIMIM enters the fray, it will divide Muslim votes further, affecting the Congress party’s prospects,” feels Adam Chaki, Congress leader and candidate from Bhuj constituency in the 2017 elections.

Chaki said that at least on 34 to 35 seats, the Muslim vote share is around 15 to 16 per cent, but the parties are not taking a risk and are fielding more Muslim candidates. According to him, the AIMIM will field candidates in two constituencies: Kutch district, Bhuj and Abdasa, on Jamnagar seat; and two in Ahmedabad in Jamalpur-Khadia and Dariapur. It is less likely to field candidates in Jambusar, Vagra and Bharuch constituencies in Bharuch district.

When it comes to the BJP, it is “least concerned with AIMIM’s entry,” says Mohsin Lokkhanwala, president of the BJP minority cell, and adds that the AIMIM can’t divide nationalist Muslim votes as those Muslims who believe in the BJP’s one nation theory are committed voters of the nationalist party.

The AIMIM is receiving a good response. Said Sabir Kabliwala, state president of the AIMIM, “It is not decided on how many seats the party will field its candidates. The party is conducting a survey and based on its conclusions, the party will field its candidates.”

This party’s entry in the state has already started denting the Congress vote bank. “See the results of Modasa and Godhra nagar palika and Ahmedabad municipal corporation elections. In Modasa, in second elections 16 councillors got elected, all on Congress symbols. All were Muslims. In 2021, 16 got elected, but nine on AIMIM symbols and seven on Congress,” elucidated Shafi Madani, national secretary of Jamat-e-Islami-Hind.

Though Muslims have a good presence in more than 50 seats, its representatives are less because parties field less number of Muslim candidates. After fielding Muslim candidates, they are left on their own and have little support from the party and the non-Muslim community, that is why their victory is dependent on how much Muslim votes one garners, elaborates Shafi Madani.

disaster

Mumbai’s Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Sudhakar Pathare, who was posted in the Port Zone, passed away in a road accident on Saturday.

Published

on

Pathare had visited Hyderabad for training. He was on his way to visit a temple with a relative when the accident occurred. Both Pathare and his relative lost their lives in the crash.

Mumbai Police have been informed about the incident.

More details are awaited.

Continue Reading

Maharashtra

Order to demolish the tomb of Hazrat Syed Bale Shah Baba in Mira Bhayander

Published

on

Mumbai: The state government has issued an order to demolish the four hundred year old dargah of Hazrat Syed Bale Shah Peer Rahmatullah Alaih located in Mira Bhayander. Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation has sent a letter to the collector declaring this dargah illegal and ordered action against it. As the dargah is located on forest land, communalists had started demanding the demolition of the dargah. In the House, Darranjan Daukhre had also demanded action against the dargah, after which now the state government has ordered to run a bulldozer on the dargah. An order has also been issued to remove and demolish the dargah by May.

Dargah trustee Amjad Sheikh said that this dargah is ancient and this order is illegal in itself. In this case, communal forces had launched a campaign against the dargah, after which this order was issued.

There is a dargah on the beach and citing the threat of terrorist and illegal activities and the presence of terrorists here, there was a demand to demolish the dargah. The dargah is close to the sea and in such a situation, the threat of a terrorist attack on Mumbai from the sea has been expressed, while the dargah administration has clearly denied this and said that communal organizations are running their agenda against the dargah and there is no such threat. Muslims have opposed this decision of the government and Muslims have also expressed their displeasure and anger over it.

The trustee says that this dargah is ancient and earlier the collector and the municipal corporation had given a notice, after which the illegal shed and other premises were demolished here and the dargah administration has taken this action at its own level. Now an order has been issued to demolish the dargah itself.

Continue Reading

National News

Congress MP Imran Masood calls for banning liquor during Navratri

Published

on

Saharanpur, March 29: Congress lawmaker Imran Masood said on Saturday that not just meat shops, liquor establishments should be shut during the nine-day festival of Navratri and called for embracing and promoting the spirit of brotherhood and communal harmony.

“Everybody is demanding a ban on meat shops during Navratri. Why is no one asking for a ban on liquor shops? Why is there no outpouring on the free flow of liquor during Navratri? Will this not spoil the purity and sanctity of the festival?” Saharanpur MP said in a special interaction with media.

The Congress Parliamentarian said that peaceful celebration supersedes everything, and it is incumbent upon all communities to maintain decorum during festivities and also make certain sacrifices, be it Eid or Navratri.

Notably, Eid-ul-Fitr and Navratri are coinciding on the same day this year. Both festivals are set to fall on Monday, with little possibility of change in the Eid schedule on account of moon sighting.

Days ago, the Congress MP also extended support to the demands of a meat ban during Navratri celebrations. In an apparent message to the Muslim community, he said that nothing would change if one did not eat meat for ten days.

“What matters above everything is the peaceful co-existence of communities. At no point in time, the differences over food preferences lead to communal strife,” Masood told newspersons.

Congress MP, when asked questions on the party’s strategy for the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, said that the Opposition is fully prepared to take on the Centre on “partisan legislation”.

“We opposed the amendments in the JPC meeting, tooth and nail. We will strongly voice our dissent in Parliament too,” he said.

Notably, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Friday that the Waqf Bill will not be delayed any further and will be reintroduced in the ongoing session of Parliament.

Only four working days of the Budget Session are left, as it concludes on April 4.

Continue Reading

Trending