In a bid to consolidate Poorvanchali Muslim voters ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections, the Congress high command has appointed former Union Minister Shakeel Ahmed as in-charge of Delhi affairs.
Ahmed replaces Jat leader Choudhury Birender Singh, who failed to impress during his tenure as general secretary in-charge. Political analysts say Ahmed will help the Congress as he has a good reputation among Poorvanchali Muslims in the Capital.
"This is a masterstroke ahead of the Assembly elections as there are 18 per cent Muslim voters in Delhi. Besides, Ahmed also enjoys good relations with Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit," said a Congress leader. Muslims of Delhi Congress, though, are not elated - they say Delhi Muslims always vote for the Congress, whether from Bihar or Uttar Pradesh.
Ahmed's main task will be to ensure better coordination between Delhi Congress chief Jai Prakash Agarwal and Dikshit. Despite Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's intervention, both the leaders have failed to bury their hatchet.
Born in January 2, 1956, Ahmed won the Madhubani lok Sabha seat in Bihar thrice. He is a doctor by profession. Currently, he is the National spokesperson of the Congress. He is known for supporting an alliance between the Congress and lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in Bihar. He earned a major chunk of votes in lok Sabha elections from the Yadav community in 1998, 1999 and 2004, but with the Congress going alone in 2009, Ahmed got the drubbing of his life.
"Traditionally, the Muslim community has identified itself as vote bank of the Congress and historically, this community has literally been responsible for the Congress coming to power. But, if one notices the kind of responsibility and representation given to the community leaders, it is not impressive at all," said former Delhi BJP president Harshvardhan.
Ahmed's remarks - that the blast near BJP office in Bangalore will help the Opposition party politically - had recently created a furore during Karnataka elections. The BJP had pointed out that it does not view the problem of terrorism in terms of political benefit or loss.