India Tomorrow News Desk
NEW DELHI: In a notable pre-election move, Ajit Pawar, leader of NCP, announced that 10% of his party’s seats would be reserved for minority candidates, including Muslims, in the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections.
The announcement was made during a public rally in Beed on October 1, signalling Pawar’s attempt to push back against the communal rhetoric that has been making headlines in recent weeks.
Addressing the gathering, Pawar affirmed, “I am committed to the principles of Shivaji, Shahu Maharaj, and Phule, who stood for equality among all castes and religions. Some leaders are irresponsibly making statements against different communities, and this is wrong.” H
His remarks seemed to be a direct response to recent inflammatory statements by BJP MLA Nitish Rane and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Fadnavis recently sparked controversy by claiming that the Muslim community had engaged in “vote jihad” during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, allegedly coordinating their votes to defeat candidates aligned with Hindutva ideologies.
He claimed this strategy resulted in the Mahayuti alliance losing 14 out of 48 seats. To prove his point, Fadnavis claimed, “Vote jihad was seen in Lok Sabha elections. In the Dhule constituency, the BJP candidate led with 1.90 lakh votes in five assembly seats. However, our candidate trailed by 1.94 lakh votes because of voting in the Malegaon Central assembly segment, losing the election by just 4,000 votes.”
Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra, Vijay Wadettiwar from the Indian National Congress countered Fadnavis saying, “The BJP only talks about jihad, mosque, Hindu-Muslim, and Bharat-Pakistan. If they do not use these four words, their candidates will lose deposits in the election. This is a pattern used by BJP people.”
Nitish Rane, a close ally of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, was allegedly recorded on video issuing threats to enter mosques and target individuals who criticize Ramgiri Maharaj, a controversial Hindu seer under scrutiny for his incendiary speeches against Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. “If you dare harm our Ramgiri Maharaj, we will enter your masjid (mosque) and hunt you down one by one (chun chun ke marenge). Keep this in mind,” Rane was heard saying, as the crowd erupted in applause.
As assembly elections approach, Pawar’s promise of increased representation for minorities, particularly Muslims, is likely to resonate with a community that has often felt marginalized in Maharashtra’s political arena. By offering 10% of NCP seats to minority candidates, Pawar is making a clear effort to woo Muslim voters in the forthcoming assembly elections.
In the current (288 seat) Legislative Assembly in Maharashtra, out of the total 10 Muslim MLAs, Congress holds 3 seats, NCP (united) has 2, Samajwadi Party 2, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) 2, and Shiv Sena 1. The Congress MLAs are Amin Patel (Mumbadevi), Aslam Shaikh (Malad), and Zeeshan Siddiqui (Bandra East). NCP is represented by Hasan Mushrif (Kagal) and Nawab Malik (Anushakti Nagar). Both Mushrif and Malik are in Ajit Pawar’s camp. Samajwadi Party’s representatives are Abu Asim Azmi (Shivaji Nagar-Mankhurd) and Rais Shaikh (Bhiwandi West). Muslims, who make up 11.56% of Maharashtra’s population of 11.24 crores, remain a significant electoral group.
