Two major political parties, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress, have nominated candidates for 24 out of 25 parliamentary seats in Rajasthan for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Despite constituting at least 10% of the vote share and wielding considerable electoral influence in around 10 Lok Sabha seats and 100 assembly seats, the Muslim community in Rajasthan has found no representation in this crucial election. Key constituencies with a significant Muslim vote bank include Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Bikaner, Nagaur, Sikar, Bhilwara, Ajmer, Dausa, Bharatpur, Alwar, Tonk-Sawai Madhopur, Jhunjhunu, and Churu.
Muslim leaders within the party have expressed their dissatisfaction over the Congress’ decision of not feilding any Muslim candidates from the state.
Former minister in Ashok Gehlot’s cabinet and senior Congress leader Amin Khan took to X to voice out his concern: “The Muslim community, which has always stood strong with the Congress, is feeling betrayed and marginalized. They have been neglected even in the distribution of tickets for the Lok Sabha elections. The party leadership is urged to address this issue promptly to avoid significant damage to the party in the elections,” he said.
Khan has contested 11 elections from the Sheo assembly seat in Barmer district and represented it for five terms.
On the other hand, BJP’s state minority cell president Hamid Khan Mewati defended the party’s stance, emphasising that ticket allocation is not the sole determinant of the party’s engagement with the minority community. He pointed out that while BJP has not nominated Muslim candidates in Rajasthan, the party has demonstrated trust in leaders from the community in other states.
In Rajasthan, the BJP has never fielded a Muslim candidate for the Lok Sabha elections, while the Congress has done so on multiple occasions. However, political observers note that Congress has had a trend of fielding at least one Muslim candidate in general elections, except in 1962, 1967, and 1972 general elections.
In 2009 and 2019 elections, Congress fielded Rafique Mandelia from Churu Lok Sabha seat, however, he lost. Congress banked on former BJP stalwart Rahul Kaswan, who recently defected to BJP.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Mohammad Azharuddin contested on Congress ticket from Tonk- Sawai Madhopur seat.
The Congress, however, has nominated Muslim leaders to Rajya Sabha, with eight leaders appointed as MPs. These leaders include Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Usman Arif, Maulana Arsarul Haq, Ushi Khan, Barkatullah Khan, Ashq Ali Tank, and AA Khan Durru Mian. Notably, both Abrar Ahmed and Mohammad Usman Arif served as Rajya Sabha MPs on two separate occasions.
Despite past instances of Muslim candidates contesting, the Muslim community in Rajasthan remains unrepresented in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, sparking debate over minority representation in politics.
