Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Poll results show Congress saw a notable number of Muslim candidates register victory in the assembly elections, with 18 out of 19 party MLAs in Assam being Muslims. Kerala’s victorious UDF has 30 Muslim MLAs, with eight from Congress and the rest (22) from its ally IUML. The two winning Congress candidates in Bengal are both Muslims. In Tamil Nadu, one Muslim candidate from Congress won, report Manash Pratim Gohain & Ambika Pandit .Assam results show the opposition’s limited success in the state was concentrated in Muslim-majority regions, with 22 of its winning candidates belonging to the community and most victories coming on seats with high Muslim population.The demographic pattern is clear. Among 22 seats with Muslim MLAs, five have 90% Muslim population, six have over 80% and eight have60%.In Kerala, of the 35 Muslim MLAs, 30 are from Congressled-UDF. The party’s eight Muslim MLAs are from Nilambur, Ponnani, Kalpetta, Aluva, Aroor, Kochi Chadayamangalam, Vamanapuram. The demography as per Census 2011 of some seats from where the candidates won shows they are Muslim dominated or have a substantial Muslim population.The two seats it won in Bengal too have high Muslim population— Farakka and Raninagar, with 67% and 80%.
