Muslim clerics blamed for splitting votes
Mohammed Wajihuddin I TNN

Mumbai: A group of Muslim religious leaders in the city are facing the ire
of secular activists and the Urdu press for sending conflicting signals to
the community just before the civic polls. Though the ulema are happy over
the Congress-NCP defeat at the hustings, many in the community have
questioned how Muslims will be benefited with the Sena-BJP back in the
saddle at the BMC.

    Despite the clerics' call to Muslims to vote against the Congress-NCP
candidates, 16 of 24 Muslim corporators won on Congress-NCP tickets. "The
ulema who asked Muslims to oppose the Congress-NCP are exposed. They
supported the hurriedly created Third Front, but it failed to win many
seats,'' said Hassan Kamal, Urdu columnist and member of Muslims for Secular
Democracy (MSD). However, Kamal agreed that the ulema's conflicting calls
confused many Muslim voters who couldn't decide who to put their lot with.

    The Urdu press have blamed the clerics for helping split the Muslim
votes. "The so-called ulema have not only damaged their own reputation, but
also put the community's respect at stake,'' wrote columnist Qutbuddin
Shahid in Mumbai's leading Urdu daily, The Inquilab (Feb 4). Launching a
scathing attack on the so-called community leaders, Shahid deplored that
many Muslim votes were wasted because of the confusing signals that came
from different factions of Muslim religious bodies.

    Two days before the civic polls, at a press conference in Mumbai, Ulema
Council, Jamiatul Ulema-e-Hind and Jamaete Islami-Hind supported the Third
Front candiates. The same day Badruddin Ajmal of the Assam United Democratic
Front and a senior Jamaitul Ulema-e-Hind member called upon Muslims to
support NCP. "Instead of opposing the Congress-NCP, Muslim bodies should
have put made them agree to certain demands,'' said writer Farooq Ansari in
Urdu Times (February 5).

    However, the ulema don't regret their decision. "We are glad we
succeeded in teaching the Congress-NCP a lesson. Now they should start doing
justice to the community,'' said Maulana Mehmood Daryabadi of the Ulema
Council.

RURAL-URBAN SPLIT

    The Muslim bodies' call against Congress-NCP mostly influenced Mumbai
and Thane elections and were largely ineffective in the rural belt. For
example, in Akola, where in the last civic polls the Muslim League had won
six seats, this time the League was reduced to just one seat. "The ulema's
call was effective only with Muslims from Bihar and UP in Mumbai. Muslims in
rural Maharashtra were not influenced by their call,'' explained Congress
MLC Muzaffar Hussain who was the Congress's incharge of civic elections in
Akola this year. Hussain was instrumental in forming the lone pre-poll
Congress-NCP alliance in the state which helped get an impressive tally of
32 seats (Congress 20 and NCP 12) of the total 71. Out of this, six Muslims
are from the Congress whereas three Muslims are from NCP. The Congress-NCP
substantially marginalised the Muslim League because they gave more seats to
Muslim candidates this time - Congress 20 and NCP 7.

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