Muslims in Telangana account for 12.68% of the State’s population, according to the 2011 Census. Yet, candidate lists across major party lines, with the exception of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), are sparsely populated by Muslim names. The trend is telling, especially considering that both the Congress and the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) have been actively courting the Muslim vote ahead of the Telangana Assembly elections.
According to official figures, the population of Telangana in 1961 was 1.27 crore, with the Muslim population pegged at 13 lakh. In 2011, the population of the State grew to over 3.50 crore, and the Muslim population increased to over 44 lakh. However, given that these figures are slightly dated, analysts estimate the size of the Muslim population to be over 50 lakh.
