Bihar Election, incredibly inclusive.

Eventually, we should have candidates where religion does not matter, and where every candidate represents the interests of all his or her constituents. This is a good beginning.  May India bless Bihar to setting the trend.

Mike Ghouse

BIHAR ELECTS 24 MUSLIMS, MIRRORING THEIR SHARE IN POPULATION

in Editor’s Pick, India, WHAT'S HOT 11 hours ago 0 470 Views

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Muslim voters form a significant chunk of Bihar’s population. Image credit: Hindustan Times

SECULAR ALLIANCE OF RJD-JDU-CONGRESS FOR THE FIRST TIME FIELDED MANY MUSLIMS WHO MANAGED TO WIN 

Caravan Desk

NEW DELHI — Even as the stunning outcome of the Bihar Assembly Elections is being hailed across the country as a historic mandate against the politics of intolerance and hate and a harbinger of groundbreaking changes at the national level, this election will also be remembered long for empowering a long marginalized minority.  

The 2015 Bihar mandate saw 24 Muslim candidates being elected to the state legislature, reflecting perhaps for the first time their actual share in the population.  Bihar is not just one of the most populous and most politically savvy states of the country, Muslims form a significant chunk of the population.  They have traditionally and loyally supported the secular players like the Rashtriya Janata Dal all these years and once again critically contributed to their success.  

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar with his Muslim supporters.

What is remarkable is the fact that for the first time that all three parties in the secular alliance — the Janata Dal (United) of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who has emerged as a strong critic and credible, more acceptable alternative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lalu Yadav’s RJD and the Congress fielded respectable number of Muslim candidates many of whom managed to win.   

Let us hope that other political parties will also replicate this template of including marginalized communities in the political process.  

Following is the list of Muslim candidates who won on Sunday:

1-  Ali Nagar               Abdul Bari Siddiqui         RJD
2-  Amour                   Abdul Jaleel Mastan        Cong
3-  Arriah                    Abid ur Rehman               Cong
4-  Arra                        Mohd Nawaz Alam          RJD
5-  Bahadur Ganj     Tausif Alam                       Cong
6-  Basai                      Abdul Subhan                     RJD
7-  Balrampur            Mahboob Alam                 CPI (ML)
8-  Baruli                    Nematullah                          RJD
9-  Bisfi                        Fayaz Alam                          RJD
10 Dehri                      Mohd Ilyas Hussain        RJD
11-Dhaka                     Faisal ur Rehman             RJD
12- Jokihat                  Sarfaraz Alam                    JD(U)
13- Kadwa                   Shakeel Ahmed Khan      Cong
14- Kasba                    Afaq alam                              Cong
15-Keoti                      Faraz Fatimi                         RJD
16- Kishan ganj         Mohd Javed Alam             Cong
17- Kochadhaman    Mujahid Alam                     JD (U)
18- Mahisi                    Abdul Ghafoor                    RJD
19- Narkatia                Shamim Ahmed                 RJD
20- Samasti pur         Akhtarul Islam ShaheenRJD
21- Sheohar                 Sharfuddin                            JDU
22- Sikta                       Khurdsheed A. Alam        JDU
23- Sursana                 Syed Abu Dujana               RJD
24- Thakurganj           Naushad Alam                   JDU

Number of Muslim Candidates At a Glance

RJD              12
Cong              6
JDU               5
CPIML           1