Owaisi's AIMIM fields two Hindu candidates in Gujarat Assembly elections

Although Gujarat is known as the "laboratory of Hindutva politics," Muslim voters are no less significant. Muslim voters have a significant influence on the outcomes of elections for any party because they represent more than 10% of the 117 seats in the state. Despite this, not a single Muslim candidate has been allotted a ticket by BJP. Congress, on the other hand, has given tickets to six Muslim candidates.

Ahmedabad: Asaduddin Owaisi's party All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) known for voicing support for Muslims is all set for Gujarat elections ditching its pro-Muslim approach by fielding two Hindu candidates. From the Danilimda and Vadgam seats in Ahmedabad, AIMIM has fielded Hindu candidates Kaushik Parmar and Kalpesh Sundhia respectively. With AIMIM coming into the picture, the political calculus around the much-hyped Gujarat politics will see four parties giving it all.

The caste structure in the state constitutes of Dalits eight per cent of the state's population and Muslims make up about 10 per cent. With a total of 14 candidates, AIMIM has carefully placed its bets on these candidates. The fact that Jignesh Mevani held the Vadgam seat is equally pertinent in this situation as now the equation may alter the outcome with the AIMIM candidate running for this seat.

Jignesh Mevani, an independent MLA from the Vadgam seat of Banaskantha, was unable to join the Congress in 2017 for varied reasons, but he has opted to run for the Congress in the Gujarat Assembly elections in 2022. Owaisi's party has declared Hindu candidate Kalpesh Sundhia despite the likelihood that Congress would win this seat.

Speaking to ETV Bharat, political analyst Habib Shaikh commented that looking at the state's surroundings, it may be said that while Owaisi may be discussing secularism, it is equally true that casteism and communalism are major issues in Gujarat elections. Polling will be held in Gujarat on December 1 and 5. The results of the 182-member Assembly will be announced on December 8. This time, parties like the Aam Aadmi Party and AIMIM are also contesting, in addition to the BJP and Congress.

The following candidates have been named in the first list of candidates released by AIMIM--advocate Mohammad Iqbal Manjalia is contesting from the Mandvi seat, Shakeel Sama from the Bhuj seat, Yakub Bukhari (Bapu) from the Khambhaliya seat, Sulaiman Patel from the Mangrol seat, Wasim Qureshi from the Surat East seat, Abdul Basir Sheikh from the Limbayat seat.

AIMIM has fielded candidates in six Assembly seats out of 89 Assembly seats in the first phase. The second list consisted of Sabir Kabliwala from the Jamalpurkhadia seat, Shahnawaz Khan Pathan from the Bapunagar seat, advocate Hasanlala Pathan from the Daryapur seat, Kausika Parmar from the Danilimda seat, Jenab Sheikh from the Vejalpur seat, Kalpesh Sundiya from the Vadgam seat, Abbasbhai Nodsola from the Siddhpur seat and Mufti Hasan Kachba from the Godhra seat.

Although Gujarat is known as the "laboratory of Hindutva politics," Muslim voters are no less significant. Muslim voters have a significant influence on the outcomes of elections for any party because they represent more than 10% of the 117 seats in the state. Despite this, not a single Muslim candidate has been allotted a ticket by BJP. Congress, on the other hand, has given tickets to six Muslim candidates.

Mammadbhai Jung has been nominated as the Congress candidate in Abdasa, whereas MLA Mohammad Javed Peerzada has been re-elected from Wankaner. Other candidates include Vagra's Suleman Patel, Suratpur's Aslam Cyclewala, Daryapur's Gyasuddin Sheikh, and Jamalpur Khadia's Imran Khedawala.

Aam Aadmi Party gave tickets to only two Muslims here. AAP seems to be emphasising the Hindutva issue as it makes its first attempt to win all seats in the Gujarat Assembly polls. The Arvind Kejriwal party has so far announced 182 candidates. Only two seats in Gujarat have minority candidates on the ballot for the AAP, despite the popularity among Muslim voters in Delhi. The Aam Aadmi Party's candidates are Taj Qureshi from the Dariyapur seat and Harun Nagori from the Jamalpur-Khadia seat.

Muslims in Gujarat have always been sidelined. Less than 10 Muslim candidates contested on Congress tickets in the most recent elections and only around 10 minority candidates entered the fray from Congress in 1995. Only 11 Muslims received tickets from the party in 1985 and of those eight were elected. Political experts claim that Congress had held back from fielding more Muslim candidates in the upcoming Gujarat elections to prevent religious polarisation. This fear is said to be the reason why only two Muslim candidates have been put up by AAP as well. There are a total of 14 AIMIM candidates, including two women, contesting 182 seats in the Gujarat Assembly polls.