Congress Seeks Muslim Votes Rather Than Candidates? Internal Division Publicly Revealed

The former state minister expressed disappointment with the MVA (Maha Vikas Aghadi) for not nominating a single Muslim candidate out of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra. He noted the expectations of Muslim organizations, leaders, and party workers for the Congress to nominate at least one candidate from the minority community, which did not materialize.

The 60-year-old politician mentioned that party leaders and workers are perplexed by the lack of Muslim candidates and are questioning why the Congress seeks Muslim votes but does not nominate any Muslim candidates. He also expressed in a letter that he is unable to face and respond to the Muslim community due to these reasons.

The Congress is contesting 17 out of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra as part of the alliance with the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) within the MVA. Muhammed Arif Khan, who was vying for a ticket from Mumbai North Central, was overlooked in favor of Varsha Gaikwad, the city unit president.

Mr. Khan, who lost in the 2019 assembly elections from Chandivali in Mumbai, remarked that the Congress appears to have strayed from its longstanding ideology of inclusivity. He cited the party’s apparent departure from its inclusive ideology and the need for representation for all communities.