18 Oct 2008, 2350 hrs IST, TNN
NEW DELHI: This may be disturbing news for the political parties which are vying with each other to cynically tap into the Muslim community’s unease
over the Batla House encounter. It’s still early days, but a random survey of Muslim-dominated assembly constituencies in east Delhi shows that the community at large in these areas is more concerned about the `bijli, paani, sadak’ issues. The dilapidated road conditions, overflowing drains, poor hygiene and sanitation and other civic issues is agitating them.
The Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party seem to have their work cut out as many in the community are inclined to vote for the Congress, saying they have “no other option”. Muslims voters in Seelampur, Karawal Nagar, Babarpur and Mustafabad seemed to be in general agreement over supporting the Congress.
Most of the Muslim voters these reporters spoke to insisted that the Batla House encounter won’t be the deciding factor though many of them did concede that much would depend on the decisions of the ulemas. Surprisingly, many of them were not fully aware of what had happened at Batla House. “A meeting of ulemas is being organised somewhere in Maujpur. We will follow whatever they decide. But for now, our main concern is to get a leader who would improve our living conditions,” said Taufiq, a resident of Kardampuri, a huge residential cluster in Babrpur assembly constituency.
Mohd Haneef, a carpenter from Babarpur, added: “We have never cast our vote on communal lines and we have always supported the Congress. But in the recent elections, the BSP made inroads in all the surrounding constituencies of Nand Nagri, Gokalpuri, Karawal Nagar and Mustafabad. The Muslim vote has got divided and this only helps the BJP,” he argued.
A resident of Seelampur, Hazi Afzal, insisted that the Congress would get the major share of Muslim vote. “The BSP and the SP stand no chance of getting a good share of these votes since the contest will be between the Congress and the BJP. Supporting the Congress is our compulsion,” he said, adding that it won’t be a cakewalk for the Congress.
Many Muslim voters said they would support a candidate or party which they believe would carry out development work. “We will vote for the Congress since we have done that all these years. But there is a feeling among residents that we should try out a candidate who is more promising,” said Hakeem, a resident of Rajiv Vihar in Khajoori, which falls under Karawal Nagar assembly constituency.
In fact, a few from the community said they could vote even for the BJP if they were convinced the candidate would work for civic improvement. Shahid, a shopkeeper from Mustafabad, said, “Look at what the Congress has done in south Delhi. There is a huge difference between south Delhi and trans-Yamuna areas. This area is not livable.”
Going a step ahead, Khaliq Ahmed, a shopowner from Karawal Nagar, said, “The Congress is like a hidden enemy, the BJP at least attacks from the front. I will vote for the BJP.”
However, not a single Muslim woman TOI spoke to was ready to divulge anything, saying that `male members’ would decide whom they should vote for. Wakila from Babarpur, however, said, “My family always votes for the Congress. Not that this helps me much. My son has studied so much, but he is still unemployed. What is the party doing?”
