New Delhi: Of the 90 newly elected Congress MLAs from 4 states that went to polls final month, 50 (about 55%) are from minority communities.
In Assam, 18 of the 19 Congress MLAs are Muslims from the Barak Valley and Decrease Assam, whereas the one Hindu MLA is from Higher Assam, suggesting how the BJP has been in a position to limit the Congress to minority-majority constituencies. Of the 63 Congress MLAs in Kerala, 20 are Christians and eight are Muslims, indicating the celebration’s robust help base within the two communities, which represent 45 per cent of the state’s inhabitants. In West Bengal, each meeting MLAs are Muslims, whereas in Tamil Nadu, the celebration’s five-member rely contains one Muslim and one Christian.
Citing Assam figures, BJP chief Amit Malviya stated the Congress was turning right into a “new Muslim league”. “Take a look at the names of Congress MLAs in Assam. It is exhausting to disregard this sample. Congress is the brand new Muslim League,” posted on X. Badruddin Ajmal of the All India United Democratic Entrance (AIUDF) additionally known as the Congress an “Islamic league”.
The Congress countered with its personal information, with spokesperson Supriya Shrinate saying that of the 664 MLAs within the nation, about 78 per cent are Hindus, 12 per cent Muslims and 10 per cent from different communities.
On the parliamentary degree, 9 of the 99 members of parliament are Muslim, representing 10 % of the entire, in line with information from the Election Fee.
Reacting to the controversy, Congress media wing head Pawan Khera on Wednesday stated it was “disgusting” to have interaction in such discussions, whereas additionally describing the Congress as a secular celebration and questioning why votes had been being assigned non secular or political “colors”.
“Muslims have rejected the Bharatiya Janata Get together, they’ve additionally rejected the so-called Islamic events, they usually have chosen secular events as a substitute. Nonetheless, they’re dissatisfied. They don’t perceive why the votes are marked with colours corresponding to saffron, inexperienced and blue. Hindus and Muslims It is uncomfortable simply to speak in regards to the proportion of MLAs, however we now have to debate it immediately…Is that this the textual content of the structure? Is this type of political tradition in keeping with Ambedkar’s structure?” he requested at a press convention on Sunday afternoon.
Different Congress leaders, together with Manish Tewari, additionally hit again at Malvia on social media.
There are a complete of 35 Muslim MLAs within the Kerala State Meeting (140 members), of which 30 belong to the UDF. The IUML, an ally of the Congress, has 22 MLAs, all of whom are Muslims. The Kerala Meeting has seven Christian MLAs, the RSP has one Christian and two Hindu MLAs (one from a major constituency).
In Tamil Nadu, the Congress secured 5 seats, with one MLA from the Christian neighborhood, Tarahai Cuthbert, and one from the Muslim neighborhood, Jamal Mohammed Yunus. In West Bengal, the Indian Nationwide Congress received solely two seats, Farakka and Raninagar, and each MLAs are Muslims.
Political analyst Professor Chandrachur Singh defined the emergence of this notion.
“The issue is that the Congress is usually unable to tell apart between safety and appeasement, however whereas it’s not an ‘Islamic celebration’ in any structural sense and stays a centrist group, over time it has developed a visual left-leaning tendency and has turn out to be extra tolerant of minorities, making it their solely steady vote financial institution in the mean time,” he informed ThePrint.
“Traditionally, the Congress tried to construct a broad coalition of higher castes, minorities, Dalits, OBCs, and so forth., however as these social blocks drifted aside, it turned more and more reliant on the votes of minorities, particularly Muslims. That created a notion downside, which political opponents, particularly the Bharatiya Janata Get together, may actively weaponize,” he added.
These considerations usually are not new: after its defeat in 2014, an inside inquiry led by senior Congress chief AK Antony stated the celebration was seen as “pro-minority”, which had a detrimental impression on elections, and that many individuals felt the Congress was “on the facet of minority communities, particularly the minorities”.
Talking at an occasion in Kerala in 2014, AK Antony stated that though the celebration’s stand continues to be certainly one of “equal justice for all”, some sections of society understand the celebration to be biased in the direction of sure communities and organizations.
Mr Antony additionally known as on state leaders to have a look at actuality and suggest modifications, warning that failing to handle these perceptions may enable communist forces to develop inside the celebration.
A senior Congress chief and former state chief minister informed ThePrint that Sonia Gandhi “feels deeply about minorities and her considerations are real,” however added that these considerations “usually are not essentially mirrored in political outcomes or realities on the bottom.”
Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s assertion in 2025 that “Congress means Muslims and Muslims means Congress” drew sharp criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Get together, which additional pointed to it as proof of minority appeasement.
Feedback by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2006 that minorities, particularly Muslims, ought to have a “precedence declare” to growth sources drew sharp criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Get together, which accused the UPA authorities of overtly making an attempt to woo the Muslim neighborhood over the welfare of minorities.
Parliamentary manifestos additionally persistently embrace commitments to guard minorities and broaden focused welfare by means of measures corresponding to scholarships and monetary support schemes.
Specialists say that is much less a few single technique and extra about altering electoral dynamics. Because the BJP consolidates a big chunk of the Hindu vote, the Congress acknowledges that the celebration’s broader social base is weakening. Because of this, some states rely extra closely on alliances and minority help, reflecting a extra fragmented electoral panorama relatively than a uniformly broad citizens.
(Edited by Vinny Mishra)
Additionally learn: Muslim votes, the X-factor, and the bounds of regional politics: Classes from elections in Bengal, TN, and Kerala.
