BRS or Congress: Who will Muslims vote in Telangana polls?

Hyderabad: Who are Muslims going to vote in Telangana elections? This is the moot question driving Bharat Rashtra Samithi and the Indian National Congress.

While BRS has got the support of the Muslim United Forum, Congress has received backing from Tehreek-e-Muslim Shabban and the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Telangana Muslim Organisations.

Telangana Muslim organizations announced their support after a meeting held on November 11. They cited the disappointment with the ruling BRS on the unfulfilled promise of a 12 percent reservation.

District Muslims support Congress

JAC represents the heads of state and district committees where the Muslim intellectuals, thinkers, and religious leaders decided that they would go by the sentiment of the people.

A survey has been carried out where specific questions related to the state and central policies were asked. The safety aspect was one of the main questions not only in the state but also in the country.

A senior leader explained, “The communal and untrustworthy atmosphere in the country towards Muslims is a growing concern. There are workers, businessmen, traders, and students who are going to different parts of the country and their safety is of prime importance. Muslims are being targeted when they protest or raise local issues. They are even targeted if they raise issues of national or international concern. False cases are being filed against them. Only AIMIM is allowed. Others feel that they are being targeted. Not everyone wants to join AIMIM."

Why are districts and Hyderabad city Muslims divided?

Hyderabad ulema’s and religious leaders issued a declaration on Monday asking the people to vote after assessing their local candidate. The declaration issued in Urdu asks them to check on the ability of the candidate to fight communal forces and, the safety of the people in the constituency and also fight for their rights.

This has led to major confusion as many of them cannot assess their candidates. “In Old City, people will abuse All India Majlis e Ittehadul Muslimeen but when it comes to voting they do not vote for anyone else. The women are not the decision makers as many of them follow what the head of the family (husband) says. Hence this dictate in Hyderabad has led to a clear split,” a local leader said.

While Tehreek-e-Muslim Shabban is conducting meetings to clear doubts. Post Minority Declaration of Congress, the real impact will be known only on the day of results.

Muslims in districts on the other hand are clear. They will come out and exercise their right to franchise. The JAC in its statement has shown that their demands have been understood and accepted by the Congress party and declared accordingly in the minority declaration.

Anger towards BRS, BJP

“The government of the BRS has intentionally ignored its commitments to the Muslim population,” the public notice said.

The JAC said that the BRS manifesto failed to address the demands put forth by the Muslim JAC and the pledges made by the government, such as the 12 percent reservation were overlooked.

Apart from this, there is anger for not permitting the CAA-NRC protest. It was the High Court that allowed the Million March in Hyderabad.

Protests for Palestine are not allowed and some activists are being detained or put under house arrest which also leads to a lot of anger in the Muslims. A senior activist explained, “Protest in any other banners apart from AIMIM is not allowed. This shows the bias of the BRS government.”

The JAC also endorsed the Opposition’s allegations of ‘clandestine cooperation between the BRS and BJP’, which is detrimental to the Muslim population since the BJP is ‘propagating animosity against the Muslim community throughout the nation.’

“After attentively observing all of these developments, we have decided to declare our support for the Congress party in this Assembly election on behalf of the state committee of Telangana Muslim organizations, JAC,” the group said.

Six-month time period

If the Congress comes to power in Telangana the JAC has made it clear that their commitments outlined in the Minority Declaration must be honored in six months’. A time frame is important as the waiting periods are too long and governments tend to forget, said a JAC leader.