Bihar Assembly Polls Heat Up Over Muslim Representation In Candidate Tickets

Patna: A political slugfest has erupted in Bihar ahead of assembly polls over RJD and its allies allegedly meting out shabby treatment to Muslims in distributing tickets, and also not naming any Muslim as deputy chief minister candidate.

Muslims constitute 17.7 percent of the state`s population. RJD has fielded 18 Muslim candidates while Congress has fielded 10 Muslim candidates. While BJP has not given any ticket to Muslim, JD (U) has given four tickets to them.  Union Minister Chirag Paswan`s LJP (RV) has given one ticket to Muslim. Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party promised to field 40 Muslims but gave tickets to 21.

Union Minister Chirag Paswan wrote on ‘X’,  “In 2005, my leader, my father late Ram Vilas Paswan Ji, even sacrificed his party to make way for a Muslim Chief Minister—but you (RJD) did not support him then.

RJD was not ready to give a Muslim Chief Minister in 2005, and in 2025 they are still unwilling to give either a Muslim CM or a Deputy CM. If you remain a vote-bank ally, how will you gain respect or true participation?” 

Meanwhile, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav in a media interview did not rule out the possibility of a Muslim being named as the deputy chief ministerial  candidate. 

Speaking on the emergence of RJD`s Muslim-Yadav (MY) vote bank, former professor of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) Pushpendra Kumar Singh said that Muslims got disenchanted with Congress after the 1989 Bhagalpur communal riot and also the grand old party`s failure in controlling communal flare-ups erupting during LK Advani`s Ram Rath Yatra. He said that RJD chief Lalu Prasad spotted an opportunity to provide his party as an alternative before Muslims following their 'disillusionment' with Congress. Muslims also having no other option switched over to the RJD fold in droves as the party built its electoral fortunes primarily on the support of Muslims and Yadavs. 

On secular parties not going the whole hog in distribution of tickets to Muslims, he said these parties become cautious in apprehension of polarisation of votes if more Muslims were fielded.

Congress leader Ali Anwar said that Muslims would support the INDIA bloc irrespective of the fact how many tickets were given to their community as "democracy would be in danger and dictatorship would be established if the NDA returned to power in the state."