Bihar Elections: Have all political parties let down the Muslim community in Bihar?

Muslim Community in Bihar Elections

Muslim Community in Bihar Elections

It would seem so, as confirmed by the latest NSSO report on various indices including economic, education, material well-being and health.

In all parts of Bihar, especially in the Muslim concentration areas of Seemanchal, Muslim community has scored lower than the General category in almost all the indices. The community continues to suffer from state neglect, with very little attention or investment made to uplift the community that comprises almost 14.6% of the total population of Bihar.

It is extremely unfortunate that poll-after-poll, all parties have grandly brandished their Muslim candidates as a sign of their inclusive approach towards the community, but ground realty proves that once the polls are over, the community continues to remain very low on the development and investment priority of the ruling government in the state.

Every government that has ruled Bihar since Independence has tried to show statistical data to prove how much Bihar has improved over the previous regime. From BJP-led Nitish Kumar government to Nitish Kumar’s rule without BJP, Bihar has been overwhelmed with claims of development and economic progress. While that may be true, or at least partly, the fact remains that very little of that development has percolated down to the

Muslim community who continue to live an abysmal quality of life.
The regime under Lalu Prasad’s rule performed even worse. But what is ironical is that each party and alliance has consistently used the community to get into power but once there, the community has remained low on priority of the government.

The blame for this must also be shared by various Muslim leaders who have been guilty of not doing much for their own constituencies after being elected. Will these polls be any different? It’s time for all parties to agree that while OBC, EBC, SC & ST categories all warrant attention and investment, leaving behind 14.6% of the population will not help Bihar’s cause. Its time political parties agree that time for change has come and that Bihar must develop but with all communities together.

Will Modi’s successful visit to the US have an impact on Bihar elections?

Narendra Modi’s visit to the US can be confidently termed as successful from India’s as well as his personal perspective. For the first time, India managed to host the G4 summit to garner unity for bringing in change to the UN Security Council. This was followed up by his high profile visit to Facebook, Apple, Tesla and SAP offices where he had public meetings. His Facebook meeting was perhaps the most significant, as the PM broke down when speaking of his mother’s contribution to his life. The fact that the entire tour has been actively covered by the media has enhanced Narendra Modi’s and India’s stature.

The broadcast of his tour back home would have had audiences in Bihar watching and is certainly going to impact the NDA’s poll campaign in a positive way. Just the fact that Google will extend Wi-Fi to 500 railway stations, which should include some stations of Bihar as well, will go down well with voters. Microsoft too has committed to offering low cost broadband access to 5 lakh villages. Villages of Bihar too will be gaining from this. Narendra Modi now has to get back to campaign trail and highlight how his efforts are going to help the people of Bihar.

Lalu Prasad goes all guns blazing in support of his son

Lalu Prasad donned the hat of a father when he made a strong and emotional appeal to the ‘Yadav’ dominated people of Raghopur constituency at a rally in Terasiya village to promote his son, Tejashwi who is contesting from there. He will be taking on Ram Kirpal Yadav, a former associate of Lalu Prasad Yadav.

Stoking the fear of Mohan Bhagwat’s claim on reviving reservations, Lalu grandly challenged the RSS and BJP to try and remove reservations. Knowing perfectly well that this was a Yadav dominated constituency, Lalu played to the galleries. But what stood out was that besides claiming his Yadav lineage and son-of-the-soil claim, there was very little on development or on what Tejashwi would actually do for the people of Raghopur. One will have to wait till elections to see how the people react to Lalu-Tejashwi’s outreach.

EC office clears new NOTA logo to be used for the first time in Bihar

For the first time, the people of Bihar will be able to use the NOTA or ‘None of the above’ option while casting their votes. The new Logo designed by the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, was selected after extensive field surveys were conducted and feedback collected from people living in rural areas and most of whom were illiterate.

It remains for the EC office now to ensure that the people of Bihar understand the option and implication of NOTA and when it must be used.

Politician in focus: Asrarul Haque Mohammed, INC (Born 15 Feb 1952)

Asrarul Mohammed is the sitting MP from Kishanganj in the 16th Lok Sabha. He was born in village Tarabari in Kishanganj district to Munshi Umed Ali and Amna Khatoon.

Asrarul Mohammed studied Fazil-e-Darul Uloom Deoband from the famous Darul Uloom – Deoband in U.P. He has worked all his life as a social worker and is a writer of repute on various social and religious issues. In his long career as a writer, he has published over 10,000 articles on various social, cultural, political and religious topics.

He is the President of All India Talimi wa Milli Foundation, Vice President of All India Milli Council, Secretary of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind and Member of All India Muslim Personal Law Board. Active in politics, he was the elected MP from Kishanganj in the 15th Lok Sabha and was re-elected for the 16th Lok Sabha as well.

Constituency in focus: Darbhanga

Darbhanga district comprises 18 Blocks and 329 Panchayats which is spread over 2,279 sq kms and has four major rivers flowing through it – Kosi, Baghmati, Kamla and Kareh.

As per 2011 Census, the total population is 39,37,385 lakh, of which 20,59,949 are males and 18,77,436 are females. Main languages spoken are Maithili, Hindi and Urdu.

2010 Assembly Election Results

• Winner in 2010 Assembly Poll: Sanjay Saraogi, BJP
• Margin of win: 27,554 votes; 23.23% of total valid votes
• Runner-up: Sultan Ahmad, RJD
• Male voters: 64,225; Female voters: 54,366; Total: 118,600
• Polling %: 52.14
• Male Candidates who contested: 11; Female Candidates: 0
• Polling stations: 238

 

Related Information:
Bihar Elections 2015
Bihar Election Updates
Bihar Election Dates
Candidate List for Bihar Assembly Elections 2015
List of Assembly Constituencies of Bihar
Bihar Election Results
Political Parties of Bihar
Who will be the next Bihar Chief Minister?
List of Chief Ministers (CM) of Bihar
Government and Politics of Bihar
List of Governors of Bihar
Bihar Map