The representation of Muslims in the Karnataka Assembly has now marginally increased to nine from seven in the last Assembly. All of them are from the Congress. It was 11 in 2013. The JD(S) said 23 of its 211 candidates were Muslims, but none won. The BJP did not field any Muslims.
Those elected are Rahim Khan from Bidar, U.T. Khader from Mangaluru, Tanveer Sait from Narasimharaja, Asif (Raju) Sait from Belagavi North, Rizwan Arshad from Shivajinagar, B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan from Chamarajpet, Kaneez Fatima from Kalaburagi North, Iqbal Hussain from Ramanagara, and N.A. Haris from Shantinagar. All of them have been re-elected, except Mr. Asif Sait and Mr. Hussain, who are entering the Assembly for the first time.
The average number of Muslim MLAs has been 8.5 since 1952. The biggest tally was in 1978 when 16 Muslims were elected. One more was elected in the byelection the same year. From 17 in 1978, the number has come down drastically. Earlier, apart from the Congress, candidates from the JD(S) would also get elected, but this time all nine belong to the former.
Political observers feel that lack of representation is affecting the overall development of the community. Khaji Arshed Ali, former MLC and journalist, points out that other communities such as Lingayats, Vokkaligas, and Kurubas who are of a similar proportion of the population, have enjoyed disproportionately higher representation in the State legislature and the Lok Sabha. The author of the ‘Karnataka Muslims and Electoral Politics’, Mr. Ali lists reasons such as poverty, lack of political awareness, lack of established enlightened leadership, and an aspirational middle class that remains detached from challenges faced by the ordinary Muslim, as some of the reasons for this.
“As per the 2011 Census, there are 12.7% Muslims in Karnataka. If they were represented in proportion to their population, the State Assembly should have had 26-28 Muslim members,” he argued.
A survey by the Karnataka Muslim Muttehida Mahaj Voters’ Forum revealed that there are 35 seats where the population is above 15%, well beyond the State average. Says Syed Tanveer Ahmed, writer and political commentator, “Of the 35 constituencies with significant Muslim electors, 25 are said to be those with a good chance of returning Muslim candidates to the Assembly. Of these, seven are reserved for the SCs/STs. In these reserved constituencies, the Muslim and Dalit population is sizeable. This is one way Muslims lost some possibility of representation.”
Mr. Tanveer Ahmed also argued that the Muslim voting percentage has consistently been less than the State average. “But this time, it seems that Muslims in many constituencies consolidated and voted for the Congress. But in a few constituencies, Muslim votes split between the Congress and the JD(S). For example, the division of Muslim votes led to the BJP winning four of the six seats, making it an exception to the trend, in Kalyana Karnataka,” Mr. Tanveer Ahmed said.
