The contest has turned triangular with the entry of the Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM for the Muslim-dominated Jamalpur Khadia assembly constituency in Ahmedabad city, a cause of concern for the Congress especially as the AIMIM candidate is a former MLA from Grand Old. The party contested the 2012 elections as an independent which resulted in the BJP winning the seat.
This seat will go to polls on December 5 in the second and final phase along with 92 other assembly constituencies.
In the 2012 assembly elections, former Congress MLA Sabir Kabliwala contested as an independent against Sameer Khan Sipai of Congress, cutting into a significant chunk of the Muslim vote, which eventually paved the way for the victory of BJP candidate Bhushan Bhatt in the Jamalpur Khadia constituency. did. ,
In the 2017 elections, Imran Khedawala of INC won by securing 75,346 votes. BJP’s Bhatt came second with 46,000 votes. Kabliwala did not contest the last election.
Cut to 2022. Kabliwala is in fray as SAB candidate India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and BJP are watching with joy.
Congress candidate and sitting MLA Khedawala claimed that AIMIM and AAP are the ‘B-team’ of the BJP. He said the voters are aware of how Kabliwala helped the BJP win the seat in 2012 and do not want a repeat of the same this time.
Any significant change in the votes of the dominant Chhipa Muslim community would prove detrimental to the Congress’s prospects and favor the BJP. Both Khedawala (Congress) and Kabaliwala (AIMIM) belong to the Chhipa Muslim community.
Even for the AIMIM, which is keen to open its account in the Gujarat Assembly in its first election, the battle is not an easy one as the party is grappling with the perception that its entry will split Muslim votes in favor of the BJP.
In Jamalpur Khadia, about 65 percent of voters or 1,35,000 belong to the Muslim community, while Hindus number 70,000. This is the constituency where the AIMIM, which is set to enter Gujarat politics through the 2021 local body elections, has a special focus.
Though the BJP has re-nominated Bhushan Bhatt, Khedawala is facing a challenge from AIMIM’s Gujarat unit president Kabaliwala.
However, it will not be easy for Kabaliwala as a section of voters from the Muslim community feel that he is working at the behest of the BJP with the intention of defeating the Congress.
AIMIM is here to help BJP. It is the B-team of the BJP in the real sense of the word,” said Javed Qureshi, who contested the 2017 elections as a Bahujan Samaj Party candidate before joining the AIMIM, but left it months later.
He said if the AIMIM was concerned about the well-being of Muslims, whom it claims to represent, it should have raised the community’s issues through its four councillors, who were elected to the Ahmedabad civic body in 2021 .
AIMIM tasted success in the 2021 local body elections, which encouraged the Hyderabad-based party to enter Gujarat politics by contesting 13 seats in the 2022 assembly elections.
Kabliwala played a key role in Bhatt’s victory in 2012, as he polled 30,513 votes, affecting the chances of Congress’ Samirkhan Sipai’s victory, which was limited to 41,727 votes. BJP’s Bhatt is leading by getting 48,058 votes.
Locals said, “If there is any pressing issue that is affecting members of the Muslim and Dalit communities in the constituency, it is the closure of around 750 garment units in the area, which rendered around 1.5 lakh workers jobless.” Is.”
In early February, a high court directive on the pollution issue led to the closure of a large number of textile units in the area, said Shamshad Pathan, former state vice-president of AIMIM and an outspoken critic of Kabaliwala.
“It is a big issue. I had urged Sabirbhai (Kabliwala) not to make it a government or high court issue but hit the streets so that the court is forced to find a way, but they did nothing,” claimed Pathan. He said that to defeat Congress, BJP has brought new parties including AIMIM in this constituency and also independents.
Kabaliwala has faced allegations from his former colleagues in the AIMIM who recently resigned accusing him of working with the BJP to defeat the Congress.
He has denied the allegations.
All these allegations are baseless. Our party (AIMIM) works to elevate the stature of the people who join us. We helped these leaders (who left AIMIM) to occupy top positions. But we came to know that he was working as an agent of Congress leaders. They are saying that AIMIM is the B-team of BJP in jest without seriousness.
He said that he is in a position to win the election.
On the other hand, Khedawala said, “Looking at the enthusiasm of people from both Hindu and Muslim communities on my seat, I am hopeful of surpassing the 2017 lead.” Kabaliwala led the defeat of the Congress candidate on his traditional bastion, so that the people realize not to repeat the mistake. Both AIMIM and AAP are B teams of BJP. They have fielded candidates to trouble the Congress. The fight remains between the Congress and the BJP,” he claimed.
BJP workers, on the other hand, said that they do not count AIMIM or Congress as challengers, nor does the saffron party need to rely on AIMIM to defeat Congress.
Though not an MLA, Bhatt has done more work for the people of the constituency than the sitting MLA (Khedawala) in the last five years. His work speaks volumes,” said a BJP worker.
Raj Kumar Mishra, who owns a popular tea stall near the historic Astodia Darwaza, said Kabaliwala faces opposition from a section of his community and “people have understood that he is part of the BJP’s B-team”. are part”.
Kabaliwala independents won. However, he faces a tough challenge as an AIMIM candidate as he has to fight the perception among the people.
Babubhai Thakor, a voter in the Hindu-dominated Raipur area, said the locals prefer to vote for the BJP.
“In the last five years, I have never seen the sitting MLA Khedawala visiting this place. People trust BJP corporators to resolve civic issues,” he said.
Vishal Solanki, a resident of the constituency’s Behrampura area, said that despite the Congress having a panel of four corporators in the area, only BJP leaders help resolve issues like cleaning gutters or paving roads.
He claimed, “Congress leaders are never seen in the field.”
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