BJP Muslim candidates score duck in Malegaon civic poll

MALEGAON: Reaching out to the minority community, the BJP has given candidature to as many as 27 Muslims, out of the record 56 nominees it has fielded for the Malegaon Municipal Corporation (MMC) polls.

“This is for the first time that the BJP is contesting polls on record 56 seats, out of total 84 seats spread across 21 wards in Malegaon. Out of the 56 candidates as many as 27 are Muslims,” a senior local BJP leader said.

The enthusiasm with which BJP has given tickets to 27 Muslim candidates to contest the election in Malegaon vanished as none of the candidates fielded by the saffron party from the minority comunity has won the elections.

Though, the BJP’s strategy of fielding Muslim candidates in Muslim-dominated Malegaon has not quite worked, but still the party is celebrating its victory.

The party opened its account in the constituency this year by winning 9 seats as against in 2012 civic polls, where it failed to open its account.

Malegaon is a Muslim majority town in Nashik district, around 280 km north-east of Mumbai in Nashik district, was rocked by two terror attacks in 2006 and 2008 is listed among the ‘sensitive’ cities in the state.

Muslims comprise over 75 per cent of Malegaon’s population.