Elections for 288 seats in Maharashtra will be held in a single phase on November 20. The result will be known on November 23.
In the Maharashtra Assembly elections, the All India Ulema Board (AIUB) put down 17 conditions, such as 10 per cent reservation for Muslims, ban on RSS from supporting Mahavikas Aghadi (MVA). On November 7, the board wrote a letter to NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Congress state president Nana Patole.
In the letter, the Ulema Council said that if the MVA government is formed in Maharashtra, then it should oppose the Waqf Bill. Also ban Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The board demanded 10% reservation for Muslims in Maharashtra and action against leaders like BJP MP Nitish Rane who made statements against Muslims.
On the other hand, the BJP opposed the demand for reservation based on religion. MP Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “Reservations based on religion are not permitted under the Constitution. How Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole told Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind that he would consider their demand for 10% reservation for Muslims.
Elections for 288 seats in the Maharashtra Assembly will be held in a single phase on November 20. The result will be known on November 23. The BJP is contesting the elections with the Mahayuti alliance. The BJP fielded candidates on 148 seats, the Shinde faction on 80 seats and the Ajit faction on 53 seats. The remaining seats were allocated to smaller parties.
Why are Muslim voters important in Maharashtra? According to an Indian Express report, the Muslim population in Maharashtra stands at around 1.3 crore. This constitutes 11.56 per cent of the state’s total population of 11.24 crore.
Out of the 288 assembly seats in the state, there are 38 assembly seats where Muslims constitute around 20%. Among these, there are 9 seats where the Muslim population represents more than 40%.
Talking about Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra, here in 10 seats, more than 25% of the population is Muslim. Mahavikas Aghadi had secured a large number of minority votes in the last Lok Sabha elections.
Now know how many Muslim candidates are there in Maharashtra elections
A total of 4,140 candidates are in the fray for 288 seats in the Maharashtra Assembly. Among them, the number of Muslim candidates is minor. Talking about Mahayuti, the BJP involved did not give ticket to any Muslim leader. Shiv Sena of the Shinde faction fielded a Muslim candidate, while Ajit Pawar’s NCP allotted tickets to four Muslim leaders.
In Mahavikas Aghadi, Shiv Sena’s Uddhav faction also did not field a single Muslim candidate, while the Congress gave its place to eight candidates, the NCP-Sharad faction and the SP to one Muslim candidate each. Meanwhile, Owaisi’s AIMIM party fielded 14 candidates in the elections, including 10 Muslims.
Modi said: “If we stay united, we will be safe. Before they were fighting in the name of religion, now they are fighting between castes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday began his campaign for the Maharashtra Assembly elections. In a 50-minute speech in Dhule, the Prime Minister said if we stay united, we will be safe. In the past, they fought in the name of religion. For this reason, the country was divided. Now they are doing the anti-caste work. It is a conspiracy against India. …