For the dominant Muslims in the Capital the 2014 general elections are going to be issue-based and personality driven. They said they would cast their votes using their wisdom and not going by the ‘directive’ of Shahi Imam Bukhari to vote for the Congress.
A majority of Muslim voters said that their main focus was on development and stability and that the Shahi Imam’s directive would not impact their mind. Atiq Ahmed, a resident of Jama Masjid area, said that people pay attention on appeals of Shahi Imam but it is a tough task for him to polarise votes for Congress as people are in a mood to give a chance to AAP. The sitting MP had made lots of promises while seeking vote last time but after winning the election he was never seen in the area. “People have been feeling cheated and they might not vote for the Congress. It is obvious that some people will follow the Shahi Imam but majority will vote for the party of their choice,” Atiq said.
While the Gujarat development plan works as a good option for many, they also want to see how reliable the Government will be. Based on this, a majority of Muslims in Nizamuddin said their vote was for the BJP. “looking at the present situation, there is little or no scope for Congress or the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). BJP has an example where they have proved that development is possible. People are sick of being misled,” said a resident in the area.
The voters of Chandni Chowk area who have been with the Congress traditionally appear in a mood to dump the party. The voters blame Congress for ignoring development of the area apart from failing to curb inflation, spiralling price rise and corruption. Muslim voters in Okhla, too, are now all for AAP. A resident of the area, Javed Parvez said, “looking at the Assembly election results, we trust AAP. We have experienced the BJP and Congress and now we are tired of them. This new party brings in a ray of hope and has a good approach.”
Mohammad Furkan, a young voter from Matia Mahal area, said that the youths are in support of AAP this time and only few traditional voters will follow appeal of Syed Ahmed Bhukhari. “We were voting for Congress as we had no other option but after emergence of AAP, which is serious about our main concern, we are going to strengthen hands of the new party,” he said.
People’s reaction is almost the same in North East Delhi as majority of Muslim voters are in support of AAP while some are advocating for Congress after fresh appeal of Bukhari. People say that they are satisfied with the work done by the sitting MP but want to vote in favour of AAP as the party is more serious about our problems. “People respect Shahi Imam and his messages but there is a wave against Congress and more than 50 per cent votes are likely to go in favour of AAP despite his appeal,” said Seraj Ahmed of Seelampur area.