Who will be the minister of the Haj department in the new BJP government likely to take over next week. Of the total 325 MlAs of the BJP and its two allies in 403 member state assembly not a single member is a muslim. This question has cropped up in the designate ruling party after the election results were declared on March 11. Neither the BJP nor its ally apna Dal (Sonelal) and Suheldeo Bhartiya Samaj party had given ticket to muslim candidate.
The minority welfare department look after the annual haj pilgrimage where the state haj committee sends 30,000 muslims every year on pilgrimage to Saudi Arab every year.
In the 17th state assembly the number of the MlAs from the muslim community has registered a sharp fall. Only 24 MlAs from the Samajwadi party, Bahujan Samaj party and the Congress have been elected to this assembly against 68 muslim MlAs elected in 2012 state assembly elections. The highest number of 17 Muslim MlAs are from SP, which gave ticket to 62 candidates of the minority community, while BSP gave ticket to highest 99 Muslim candidates, but only five could win and two were elected from the Congress. RlD had given tickets to 30 muslim candidates and none were elected.
The candidates from the minority community lost the election in most of the districts who were pitted against the resurgent BJP. In Moradabad district highest number of four Muslims candidates were elected on SP ticket while two were elected from Rampur. Muslims candidates won three seats out of the total five candidates from the community in the fray in the district.
There were 143 seats in western UP, where around 60 per cent seats are Muslim-dominated seats. As per 2011 census the total population of Muslims in the state is 19.3 per cent. Out of total 403 seats, the election result in 143 seats is decided by the Muslim voters where their population is over 20 per cent. Of these 143 seats, in 70 the share of the Muslim voters range between 20 and 30 per cent and in 73 seats muslims are over 30 per cent of the population.
The need for Muslim representation in allotment of seats was felt by all parties this year, except, by the BJP. For the first time in its electoral history, not a single muslim was elected to lok Saba from the state in 2014.
In the 2012 Assembly polls, SP won 72 seats of the total 143 Muslim dominated seats followed by 26 each by BJP and BSP while RlD-Congress combine won 14 seats. Rampur city in west UP has the distinction of having the most Muslim population in the state of around 70.2 per cent.