AHMEDABAD: All 42 Muslim candidates in the Gujarat’s LS election fray, including Sherkhan Pathan — the Congress’s lone minority contender — have been defeated. Gujarat has not sent a minority MP to the Lok Sabha since 1984; Ahmed Patel, now a senior Congress leader, was elected that year from Bharuch.
Pathan, the president of the Bharuch District Youth Congress and the son of senior Congress leader Shakur Pathan, conceded defeat as his BJP rival, Mansukh Vasava, recorded a lead of over 3.34 lakh votes. Bharuch has the largest minority voter base, with nearly 22% Muslim population. Pathan, 38, wielded influence in tribal pockets of the Bharuch constituency in places such as Netrang and Jhagadia. He won 26% of the votes but could not withstand the Modi wave.
Other Muslim candidates have lost their deposits. Among the big parties, the Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) fielded one Muslim candidate each in the state. The BJP did not give a ticket to any Muslim candidate. While eight Muslims were endorsed by the parties, 34 contested as independent candidates. Small parties such as Ambedkar National Congress, Apna Desh Party, Bahujan Mukti Party, and the New All India Congress gave a chance to Muslim candidates.
Among the Muslims those who contested these elections were Firozkhan and Imtiyazkhan Pathan — the brothers who survived the Gulbarg Society massacre during the 2002 riots. Firozkhan Pathan could secure only 862 votes — 0.07% of the share — against BJP’s national president Amit Shah in Gandhinagar. Imtiyazkhan Pathan contested from Kheda and polled 4,853 votes.
The Navsari Lok Sabha seat had the highest number of Muslim candidates (nine), while seven Muslims contested from Jamnagar.