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Muslims` choice crucial in a dozen Delhi constituencies
New Delhi, Nov 29: There are about a dozen Delhi Assembly constituencies where a swing in Muslim vote may affect prospects of main contenders--the ruling Congress and the BJP, but in the absence of a strong third alternative, the community is left with little choice.
New Delhi, Nov 29: There are about a dozen Delhi Assembly constituencies where a swing in Muslim vote may affect prospects of main contenders--the ruling Congress and the BJP, but in the absence of a strong third alternative, the community is left with little
choice.
Moreover, in the immediate context, there is no such major
issue in the capital or at the national level, or any strong
individuals that could wean away the minority on a large scale from
the ruling Congress, which it had largely supported in the last two
elections.
There might be anger voting against non-performing candidates in some stray cases, and in that situation, third party candidates might corner minority community votes, but political observers feel that this will not be happening in many constituencies, as the general tendency at the last moment is to cast vote in favour of the winning candidate.
As for developmental issues, the failures and successes of the Sheila Dikshit government have affected the community the same way as they have done other sections of the population.
For example, the alleged loot of the electricity consumers by private contractors following privatisation of power distribution, which the BJP has made one of its main election issues, has affected everyone, but some improvement in power supply seems to have pacified the people's anger to a great extent.
''We are ready to pay thrice the amount for electricity provided we have it,'' said a voter from a middle income group residing in the Muslim dominated Okhla constituency represented by the Congress.
Muslims voters may not be very happy with the sitting MLA but in the present scenario they have no choice, says a former University professor from the same constituency.
However, there are a few constituencies where Muslims may not vote for the Congress en bloc, which may work to the advantage of the BJP.
Balli Maran from where the Delhi Food and Civil Supplies Minister and sitting MLA Haroon Yusuf is seeking re-election is one such constituency.
Presence of a strong independent candidate has made the fight not very easy for the minister who had won from here with a heavy margin of 24,000 in the last elections. However, in the 1993 elections, he had won with a narrow margin of around 1500 votes.
Bureau Report
There might be anger voting against non-performing candidates in some stray cases, and in that situation, third party candidates might corner minority community votes, but political observers feel that this will not be happening in many constituencies, as the general tendency at the last moment is to cast vote in favour of the winning candidate.
As for developmental issues, the failures and successes of the Sheila Dikshit government have affected the community the same way as they have done other sections of the population.
For example, the alleged loot of the electricity consumers by private contractors following privatisation of power distribution, which the BJP has made one of its main election issues, has affected everyone, but some improvement in power supply seems to have pacified the people's anger to a great extent.
''We are ready to pay thrice the amount for electricity provided we have it,'' said a voter from a middle income group residing in the Muslim dominated Okhla constituency represented by the Congress.
Muslims voters may not be very happy with the sitting MLA but in the present scenario they have no choice, says a former University professor from the same constituency.
However, there are a few constituencies where Muslims may not vote for the Congress en bloc, which may work to the advantage of the BJP.
Balli Maran from where the Delhi Food and Civil Supplies Minister and sitting MLA Haroon Yusuf is seeking re-election is one such constituency.
Presence of a strong independent candidate has made the fight not very easy for the minister who had won from here with a heavy margin of 24,000 in the last elections. However, in the 1993 elections, he had won with a narrow margin of around 1500 votes.
Bureau Report