Muslim candidates dominate Congress wins across States

With the exception of Kerala, in the just concluded five Assembly polls, most Congress candidates who won in Assam, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu are Muslims. The party contested over 390 seats in Assam and West Bengal and won 21, of which 20 were Muslim candidates.

In Kerala, where the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) alliance is set to form the Government, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) is its key ally. Of the total 35 Muslim MLAs elected to the Kerala Assembly, 30 are from the Congress-led UDF alliance. Eight Congress MLAs are Muslims, while 22 belong to ally IUML.

As per the election commission results, 18 of the 20 Muslims fielded by the Congress have won, while one out of the other 79 non-Muslims fielded by Congress has won. Its ally Raijor Dal has won two seats, out of which one of them is a Muslim, and the other is Akhil Gogoi, who is facing an NIA probe for being the kingpin of Maoist activities in Assam.

Further, Congress won two seats in West Bengal, and both are Muslims from Muslim-dominated seats. In fact, with 63 Muslim candidates, the grand old party outdid TMC in giving party symbols to Muslims in West Bengal, which gave tickets to 47 Muslim candidates.

In the case of Tamil Nadu, Congress nominated two Muslims, of which 1 has won. Muslims fielded by Congress alliances in both Keralam and Assam have an 80 percent+ winning strike rate, making it obvious that the only community which assured victory to Congress are Muslims.

On Monday, BJP made history by winning 206 seats and more than a two-thirds majority in the West Bengal assembly, ending TMC’s 15-year rule. It will also form the Government in Assam for a third consecutive term, with a record 102 seats in the 126-member assembly. Meanwhile, the Congress-led opposition had its worst recent performance.