New Delhi, May 5: The recent Assembly elections across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Keralam, Assam and Puducherry presented a mixed outcome overall for the Congress and its allies with notable results among Muslim candidates.
Even though the party managed to end a 10-year dry spell in Keralam, it faced setbacks in Tamil Nadu, Assam and West Bengal.
In Keralam, out of 35 Muslim MLAs elected, 30 belong to the United Democratic Front (UDF), including eight from the Congress and 22 from the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML).
In Assam, 18 out of 20 Muslim candidates fielded by the Congress secured victories, compared to a significantly lower success rate among its non-Muslim candidates. Its ally, Raijor Dal, won two seats, one of them being won by a Muslim, and the other Akhil Gogoi, who is under investigation by NIA for being the alleged "kingpin of Maoist activities in Assam."
In contrast, only one out of the other 79 non-Muslims fielded by Congress has won, whereas the party had had declared candidates for 101 seats in Assam.
The All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) President Maulana Badruddin Ajmal saying that Congress has "finished in Assam" and has become the Muslim league.
"Those who dig wells for others, themselves fall into them. Congress had tried to dig a well (defeat) the AIUDF, and now Congress is finished. Congress has become the Muslim League, I am very sad with that," said Ajmal.
In Assam's Gauripur, Congress candidate Abdul Sobahan Ali Sarkar defeated BJP's AIUDF's Nizanur Rahman by a margin of 19097 votes, and registered a decisive victory. On the other hand, Congress' Aftab Mollah won in Jaleshwar by 109688 votes against AIUDF leader Sheikh Alam. Congress displayed another dominant performance in Samaguri, where Tanzil Hussain won against BJP's Anil Saikia by 108310 votes.
In West Bengal, the Congress won two seats, both from constituencies with significant Muslim populations. The party also fielded more Muslim candidates than the Trinamool Congress. In Tamil Nadu, the Congress fielded two Muslim candidates, one of whom emerged victorious.
Overall, Muslim candidates fielded by Congress and its alliances in states like Keralam and Assam recorded a notably high strike rate, exceeding 80 per cent in some cases.
One notable example comes from the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), which is part of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala. The party fielded Fathima Thahiliya, who won the Perambra constituency in Kozhikode by a margin of more than 5,000 votes. With her win against CPI (M) leader TP Ramakrishnan, she became the first Muslim woman MLA from the party.
The success of Congress showcases its popularity in the Muslim community of Assam, where in most seats the winning margin of the victorious Muslims candidate was 20000. In some constituencies such as Gauripur, Jaleshwar, Samaguri and Algapur-Katlicherra, the winning margin of the Congress candidate was above 100000.
In Assam, the BJP achieved a vote share of 37.81 per cent, while the Congress secured 29.84 per cent of the votes. On the other hand in Keralam, the Congress and IUML in total received a vote share of 39.80 per cent. (ANI)
