6 of 12 Muslim candidates inNMC House are debutants

Nagpur: As many as 12 Muslim candidates were elected to the 151-member Nagpur Municipal Corporation, with winners coming from the Congress, AIMIM and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML). Notably, two of the winning candidates — one each from AIMIM and IUML — belonged to other communities.Among the newly-elected corporators, Congress candidates Wasim Khan, Syed Muskan and Asif Sheikh; AIMIM's Sofiya Sheikh and Alisha Khan; and IUML's Ansari Mohammad Mujtaba are debutants.The lone Muslim face fielded by BJP, Kamil Ansari, lost to a Congress candidate in prabhag 8, Mominpura. Muslims constitute around 10% of Nagpur's population, and the community's representation in the civic body stands at about 7%. Despite this gap, the community largely expressed satisfaction with the outcome.Congress fielded only 11 Muslim candidates, accounting for roughly 7% of its total nominees, in Nagpur. Among those elected, 5 belonged to Congress, 4 to AIMIM and 2 to IUML. Despite these gains, several wards with sizeable Muslim population failed to elect Muslim representatives, largely due to a split in votes among multiple candidates. At the same time, winning Muslim candidates also drew support from other communities, as reflected in victory margins.Wasim Khan said his focus would be on meeting the community's expectations and fulfilling promises. "The community had faith in us despite many distractions. We will work to resolve issues and push development. Prabhag 8 is among the most underdeveloped areas, and we will have to take it forward collectively," he said.Social worker Faizan Ahmed Khan said the community was broadly satisfied with the outcome. "The community needs bigger numbers to effectively raise its voice in the standing committee. The newly-elected representatives will have to rise above water, meter and gutter politics to also address concerns of security and safety. Over the past eight years, the community felt politically orphaned. There is hope now," he said.