In the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections of 2024, a total of 78 Muslim candidates contested across various constituencies, marking a decrease from the 115 candidates who participated in the 2019 elections.
Among the Muslim candidates who emerged victorious:
• Congress candidate Imran Masood secured the Saharanpur seat with a significant margin of 64,542 votes.
• Iqra Choudhary, a 29-year-old Samajwadi Party candidate from Kairana, defeated BJP’s Pradeep Kumar by 69,116 votes.
• Afzal Ansari won the Ghazipur seat.
• AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi retained his Hyderabad seat with an impressive margin of 3,38,087 votes, defeating BJP’s Madhavi Latha Kompella.
• In Ladakh, Independent candidate Mohammad Haneefa clinched victory by a margin of 27,862 votes.
• Another Independent candidate, Abdul Rashid Sheikh, triumphed in Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla constituency, securing 4.7 lakh votes.
• Samajwadi Party’s Mohibbullah won the Rampur seat in Uttar Pradesh with 4,81,503 votes, while Zia Ur Rehman emerged victorious in Sambhal by a margin of 1.2 lakh votes.
• Mian Altaf Ahmad of the National Conference won the Anantnag-Rajouri seat in Jammu and Kashmir with a margin of 2,81,794 votes against former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti. In Srinagar, NC candidate Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi secured 3,56,866 votes.
• In West Bengal’s Baharampur constituency, first-time contender Yusuf Pathan defeated Congress leader and six-time MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury by 85,022 votes.
Overall, the Congress-led INDIA bloc secured victory in 231 seats, while the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) emerged victorious in 295 seats. This marks a significant shift as Prime Minister Narendra Modi will now need to rely on the support of his allies to form a government for the first time since 2014.
The INDIA bloc is reportedly engaging with NDA allies in efforts to garner support for government formation. (With inputs from PTI)
COMMENTS