Muslim MPs in Lok Sabha goes down from 35 to 28

TUESDAY, MAY 19, 2009 CE

Muslim representation in Lok Sabha goes down

GK CORRESPONDENT

Srinagar, May 18: Muslim representation in the current Lok Sabha would be lower as compared to 2004 and 1999. With a countrywide population of 13.4 per cent as per 2001 census, the Muslim representation in Lok Sabha is just 5 per cent with 28 MPs in a House of 543.

While 32 Muslim candidates were elected in 1999 and 35 in 2004, only 28 have made it this year. The only distinction the Muslims have achieved in the recent elections is that the youngest parliamentarian would be 26-year-old Muhammad Hamidullah Sayeed, son of late P M Sayeed, who won from Lakshadweep as a Congress nominee. In the new Lok Sabha, Congress has the highest number of 11 Muslim MPs followed by three each from National Conference and Bahujan Samaj Party. Indian Union Muslim League and Trinamool Congress have two Muslim MPs each. BJP, JDU, DMK, CPI, AIMIM and AUDF have one each Muslim MP while one Independent Muslim candidate has been elected from Ladakh.

Kalyan Singh factor seems to have dented Samjawadi Party’s support base among the Muslims in Uttar Pradesh as Mulayam Singh Yadav’s party has not been able to send any Muslim member to the Lok Sabha, as compared to a tally of seven in 2004.

While UP and West Bengal have elected the highest number of six Muslim MPs each followed by Jammu & Kashmir with four, Kerala and Bihar have got three each, Tamil Nadu and Assam two each and one each has got elected from Andhra Pradesh and Lakshadweep.

In 2004 polls, the highest number of 10 Muslim candidates were elected from UP, five from West Bengal, four from Bihar, three from Jammu & Kashmir, two each from AP, Assam, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and one each from Jharkhand and Maharashtra.

Among the prominent Muslims elected to the Lok Sabha this year are senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid, former J&K chief minister Dr Farooq Abdullah, former cricketer Muhammad Azhar-ud-Din, AIMIM chief Assad-ud-Din Owaisi, former minister of state for External Affairs E. Ahmad, former head of Minority Commission Zafar Ali Naqvi, BJP’s Sayed Shahnawaz and perfume trader-turned-millionaire Badruddin Ajmal from Assam.

In a record of sorts, Assad-ud-Din Owaisi has successfully retained the prestigious Hyderabad parliamentary constituency for the sixth consecutive term with his All India Majlis Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen winning seven seats in the AP assembly elections that were held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls. End

List of the Muslim MPs in the New Parliament

1. Asadudduin Owaisee, Majlise Ittehad ul Muslimin (MIM), Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh

2. Badruddin Ajmal Qasmi, Assam United Democratic Front (AUDF), Dhubri, Assam

3. Ismail Husain, Congress, Barpeeta, Assam

4. Mohd Israrul Haque Qasmi, Congress, Kishan Ganj, Bihar

5. Manazir Husain, Janata Dal (United), Begum Sarai, Bihar

6. Shahnawaz Husain, Bharti Janata Party (BJP), Bhagulpur, Bihar

7. Sharifuddin Sharique, National Conference (NC), Baramula, Jammu Kashmir

8. Faruque Abdullah, National Conference (NC), Srinagar, Jammu Kashmir

9. Peer Mohd Husain, National Conference (NC), Anantnaag, Jammu Kashmir

10. Hasan Khan, Independent, Laddakh, Jammu Kashmir

11. E. Ahmad, Muslim League, Mullapuram, Kerala

12. ET Mohd Basheer, Muslim League, Punani, Kerala

13. Abdul Rehman, DMK, Vellur, Tamil Nadu

14. Harun Rasheed JM, Congress, Thaini, Tamil Nadu

15. Tabassum Begum, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Kairana, Uttar Pradesh

16. Qadir Rana, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Muzaffar Nagar, Uttar Pradesh

17. Mohd Azharuddin, Congress, Muradabad, Uttar Pradesh

18. Shafiqur Rehman Berque, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Sumbhal, Uttar Pradesh

19. Zafar Ali Naqwi, Congress, Khairi, Uttar Pradesh

20. Qaiser Jahan, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh

21. Salman Khurshid, Congress, Farrukhabad, Uttar Pradesh

22. Mausam Noor, Congress, Malda-North, West Bengal

23. Hashim Khan Choudhary, Congress, Malda, West Bengal

24. Ab Mannan Husain, Congress, Murshedabad, West Bengal

25. Noorul Islam, Trinamul Congress, Bashirhut, West Bengal

26. Sultan Ahmad, Trinamul Congress, Aluberia, West Bengal

27. Shaikh Sadiqul Haque, CPM, Berdwan, West Bengal

28. Mohd Hamdullah Saeed, Congress, Lakshdeep