From 115 in 2019 to 78 in 2024, Muslim candidates fall across major political parties

Political parties

The number of candidates from the Muslim community fighting the ongoing parliamentary polls has come down drastically from the 2019 general elections, according to an article in The Indian Express.

BJP has fielded one Muslim candidate in the ongoing general elections, and its ally JD(U) one more in Bihar. Among the key Opposition parties too, the representation to the community has fallen. The Congress, Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, RJD, NCP and CPI(M) have fielded 78 Muslim candidates this time, down from 115 in 2019, The Indian Express article says.

In the last Lok Sabha polls, as many as 26 Muslim candidates were elected as MPs; of them four from the Congress and TMC each, three from the BSP and SP each, and one each of the NCP and CPI(M). Others belonged to the AIUDF of Assam, Lok Janshakti Paswan (now split into two factions), IUML and the J&K National Conference.

The BSP has fielded 35 Muslim candidates in 2024, the highest among all parties; of these, more than half (17) in Uttar Pradesh, apart from four in Madhya Pradesh, three each in Bihar and Delhi, two in Uttarakhand, and one each in Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Telangana and Gujarat.

By allocating 25 per cent of the total seats to the minorities in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh, the Bahujan Samaj Party has put its bets on the Dalit-Muslim combination for its revival in the state which sends the highest number of MPs to the parliament.

The Congress come next with 19 Muslim candidates in the ongoing parliamentary elections, with the largest number in Bengal at six. TMC appears third on the list with six candidates.

Muslims make up 27% of West Bengal’s population, according to the 2011 census. They live mostly in the north Bengal districts of Uttar Dinajpur (49.9% share of population) and Malda (51.3%), the central Bengal district of Murshidabad (66.3%) and the south Bengal districts of Birbhum (37%), South 24-Parganas (35.6%), Nadia (26.8%) and North 24-Parganas (25.8%).

Often accused by the BJP of “favouring Muslims”, the SP has fielded only 4 Muslim candidates in constituencies where the community has a sizeable population. Instead, the party is now concentrating on wooing the OBCs, the largest voting bloc in UP, comprising 40 per cent of the population, along with Dalits who constitute 20 per cent.

CSDS-Lokniti surveys, especially the post-poll studies conducted after the elections, have shown that Muslim turnout has not decreased in the Modi era. In fact, one finds a slight increase in Muslim turnout in 2019 (60%) compared to 2014 (59%).

Although it is true that Hindu turnout (over 70% in 2019) has noticeably increased in this period, the data does not indicate that Muslim communities have stopped taking national elections seriously. This is also true for the assembly elections, where Muslims enthusiastically participated in voting during state polls.