The only community behind the power of SP in UP and TMC in Bengal is Muslims, know why

New Delhi : The results of the Lok Sabha elections have come. This time in the Lok Sabha elections, the India Alliance has achieved more success than expected. An important part of the success of the India Block depends on Muslims. In this election, the Muslim community voted decisively against the BJP. Along with this, an alliance was formed with backward castes and Dalits. This is the reason why this time the BJP could not get a clear majority. Samajwadi Party in UP and TMC in West Bengal clearly benefited from this.

Why did they unite?

Academics and political analysts say this was due to a combination of the BJP’s failed outreach to the Pasmandas (the most socially and economically backward among Muslims) and anti-Muslim rhetoric during the election campaign. However, the most important factor that enabled the backward-Muslim alliance was the BJP’s announcement that Muslim reservation within the OBC quota would be removed. While the BJP campaign began with an agenda of ‘vikasit bharat’ or development, the narrative deteriorated soon after the first phase. Professor Khalid Anees Ansari, a sociologist at Azim Premji University, called PM Modi’s Pasmanda outreach ‘repetitive’, saying that in one speech, he/she would speak about the Pasmandas and then in another speech he/she would call Muslims infiltrators.

The rhetoric against Muslims proved costly

Modi accused the TMC of appeasing the ‘Muslim vote bank’. he/she targeted the Congress, saying that they would confiscate the property of Hindus and distribute it among Muslims. he/she accused the Congress of doing ‘politics of appeasement’. The BJP also accused former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of saying that Muslims have the first right over the country’s resources. After being pushed into a corner, Muslims chose to vote strategically keeping in mind the possibility of victory. Hilal Ahmed, associate professor at CSDS, said that in 2019, the BJP got 6% of the Muslim vote, which has reduced significantly. Asim Ali, a political researcher at the Centre for Policy Research, says that the election saw a smooth transfer of votes among Muslims to backward caste candidates. In this, most Muslim candidates of SP and Congress won in UP.

Muslim candidates outweigh in direct contest

In a direct contest in the Lok Sabha elections, SP’s Mohibullah defeated BJP’s Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi in Rampur. While Iqra Choudhary from Kairana and Afzal Ansari from Ghazipur also registered victories. In West Bengal, TMC’s Yusuf Pathan defeated Congress veteran and five-time MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. The Muslim vote in West Bengal did not split between the Left and the Congress and the BSP in UP, as some had expected. This is significant as the number of Muslim candidates in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections has declined. The BJP fielded the only Muslim candidate, Abdus Salam, from Malappuram in Kerala. In Bihar, its ally JD(U) gave tickets to two candidates. The representation of the Muslim community has also declined in opposition parties.

Lok Sabha elections: Who is the Muslim community with this time, know what is the voting pattern

Fear of ending quota?

The question of citizenship and the fear that existing Muslim quotas at the state level in Kerala, Karnataka and Telangana could be abolished if the BJP wins 400 seats have consolidated the Muslim vote. The TMC took full advantage of the High Court’s decision to abolish OBC certificates.