Hyderabad, June 01: The near absence of Muslim leadership at the three-day Telugu Desam mahanadu that concluded on Sunday is indicative of party chief N Chandrababu Naidu’s failure to cut ice with the largest minority community in the state.
Muslims in the state account for 9 percent of the total population, and 11 percent of the voters. But the TDP has only one general secretary from the community out of a total of 20; one vice president, and one politburo member. At a time when political parties ascend to greatness or sink without a trace by a few votes, while loudly touting their caste and community affiliations, it is strange that the Telugu Desam Party is not doing enough to give proper representation to the minority community and woo voters.
Two prominent faces from the city — Zahed Ali Khan, the lone politburo member and the party’s lone MLC Ibrahim Abdullah Masqati — were conspicuous by their absence at the mahanadu. Vice president Lal Jan Pasha, and general secretary Ahmed Shareef were present, but did not figure prominently in the discussions and formulation of party policies. They were heard only when the subject under discussion pertained to minorities. However, businessman-turned-politician Mohammed Saleem, who is in-charge of the Jubilee Hills assembly constituency did manage to secure himself a share of the limelight by declaring a donation of Rs 25 lakhs to the party coffers.
The TDP did come up with some innovative resolutions during the mahanadu, including one that said that five per cent of the annual state revenue be allocated for the welfare of minorities. Other propositions included providing five per cent reservation for minorities in local bodies, giving financial assistance from the government to start businesses and industries and a recommendation that the government help the state wakf board retrieve its encroached land running into thousands of acres.
Analysts have said that Naidu’s declaration at the mahanadu admitting his `mistake’ in aligning with the BJP-led NDA government in the past, has gone down well with Muslims, but feel it is a mere drop in the bucket. They feel that the TDP chief has done little to promote Muslim leadership in the party, which has markedly declined over the years, and has not helped the party’s relationship with the minority community.
The TDP has usually not been able to hang on to its Muslims leaders for long. Khaleelur Rahman who served as Rajya Sabha member left the party and joined the Congress. Basheeruddin Babu Khan first resigned from the cabinet when Naidu decided to support the NDA and then finally left the party, frustrated at being constantly ignored. Another blow came during the 2009 election, Yousuf Ali deserted the TDP to join the TRS. Even N Farooq who once served in Naidu’s cabinet is never seen anymore.
In the past, the TDP also made attempts to keep the Muslims in good humour by increasing the budget of the ministry of minority affairs, sanctioning professional colleges, constructing and repairing mosques, protecting graveyards by building walls around them and building shaadi khanas. But when the anti-Muslim riots rocked Gujarat, Naidu failed to fathom the depth of hurt feelings among the Muslims, and continued his support to the NDA at the Centre. That largely became his undoing and he lost the 2004 elections. The party, with him at the helm, garnered only 21.9 percent of the Muslim votes as 67.7 percent of the community supported the Congress instead. It was hard to recoup after this loss, and in the 2009 elections, the TDP won only 24.8 percent of the Muslim votes, an improvement over last time, but one that didn’t make any tangible difference.
But analysts believe that the absence of Muslim leaders in the party is its main impediment in reaching out to the community, which believes it does not have enough representation to put pressure on the government.
Source: TOI