Bhakti Chalak/Pune

As the Devendra Fadnavis-led Mahayuti government is all set to take charge of Maharashtra, Muslims who seem to have voted for the BJP-led alliance in a major way, have a set of demands from the new government. The Assembly election saw a major shift in the BJP-led Alliance’s stance towards Muslims after it had distanced itself in the earlier Lok Sabha elections. As a result along with the consolidation of Hindu votes, Mahayuti reached the 234 mark with its candidates winning from 22 of 38 constituencies where the Muslim vote share is more than 20%. The other alliance - Mahavikas Aghadi - secured 13 seats.

Against the backdrop of slogans like ‘vote jihad’, 'religious war,' and the series of controversial remarks by top leaders of the Mahayuti alliance, there is disquiet among the minority Muslims. 'Awaz Marathi' reached out to three key Muslim social leaders in Maharashtra to know about their expectations from the new government.

Maharashtra State Co-coordinator for National Coordination of People's Movements Ibrahim Khan said, “The result came as a surprise due to the one-sided election. This time, there was a noticeable fragmentation within the alliances. Mahayuti approached the elections with confidence, whereas the alliance showed weakness. However, we will continue our work by raising issues of ordinary citizens before the new government.”

He further said, “The government should fulfill the promises made to the ordinary citizens. The Muslim community has also voted in large numbers for Mahayuti. Even in traditional constituencies like Kasba (in Pune), Muslims have substantially voted in favour of the BJP. I have all the data on this. Not only the BJP but also its allies like the nationalist parties received significant Muslim support. Therefore, this government should view the Muslim community with a positive outlook and seriously address the community's fundamental issues. For the Muslim community, there is the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Corporation. The government should make significant financial provisions for it, and it should ensure that 100% of the funds are utilized effectively.”

Ibrahim Khan also has a piece of Advice for Muslims. He said, “Our social movement should not be religion-centric or confined to religious matters. It should be for the entire society. Instead of fighting on religious issues, they should fight for basic issues and stay away from religious politics. The Muslim community should firmly stand behind activists.”

Dr. Shamsuddin Tamboli, president of the Muslim Satya Shodhak Mandal, said, “In this election, as there was polarization between Hindus and Muslims, there was also polarization between Marathas and OBCs. This is done to win elections, but the long-term social consequences of this are harmful.”

Muslim voters had supported the Mahavikas Agadi in the Lok Sabha elections, but in the assembly elections, the Muslim vote got fragmented. On the other hand, Mahayuti succeeded in attracting Muslim voters. Commenting on this, Shamsuddin Tamboli said, “Due to Mahayuti’s ‘Ladki Bahin’ (Beloved Sister) scheme, discounts on ST travel, and other women-centric policies, Many Muslim women openly supported Mahayuti in this election. Before the elections, the free Ajmer pilgrimage and the distribution of burqas to Muslim women also affected Muslim voters.”

He continued, “Although Muslims voted for Mahayuti, they are being vilified in the name of non-existent ‘vote jihad.’ There have been attempts to create fear in the Hindu community through terms like ‘Love jihad,’ ‘Land jihad,’ and now ‘Vote jihad,’ using religion to ask for votes.”

On his expectations from the new government, Tamboli said, “The new government should work to prevent the rise of hatred based on caste and religion in Maharashtra. All of us at the Satya Shodhak Mandal support the idea of a uniform civil code. In 1966, the Mandal had written a letter to the then Chief Minister advocating a uniform civil code. We expect this government to bring about the uniform civil code.”

Munir Mulla, district president of the NCP's Minority Cell in Sangli, said, “The results of the assembly elections were unexpected. The reason for Mahayuti’s success is the ‘Ladki Bhiin’ scheme. By transferring money directly to women’s accounts, this scheme had a significant impact on the female electorate. Additionally, the variety of schemes launched during Mahayuti’s tenure attracted a large number of voters, which resulted in the huge victory.”

He further said, “Now, the new government must fulfill its promises to the public. Maharashtra must be elevated to the top position in the country in terms of industrial, educational, economic, and social development. Similar to how institutions like Sarathi were established for the Maratha community and ART for the Matang community, a similar institution should be established for the Muslim community. However, no progress has been made with the MARTI (Maulana Azad Research and Training Institute). Just like other institutions, MARTI should offer interest-free loans to the Muslim community. Also, employment schemes should be initiated for Muslim youth.”

“The most important thing is that some extremist elements have constantly targeted the Muslim community through their speeches. Action should be taken against them under the existing hate speech laws to prevent social division.”

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The unexpected results of the assembly elections have led to widespread analysis of the outcome. Everyone is interpreting the results in their way. In the Lok Sabha elections, Muslim votes played a decisive role. However, this time the situation seems different. It is often assumed that Muslim voters always vote against Mahayuti. With Mahayuti forming the government now, it will be interesting to see how this reflects on the Muslim community. After the victory, BJP’s Chief Ministerial candidate Devendra Fadnavis promised to take everyone along, and this statement has likely provided some reassurance to the Muslim community.