Patna, Sep 23
For Tufail Ahmad and Riaz
Ansari, residents of Bihar's Seemanchal region, Chief Minister Nitish
Kumar is their leader, not firebrand Muslim leader Asaduddin Owaisi.
"Humralog
ka neta to Nitish Kumar hain, Owaisi nahin," said Ahmad, who is in his
early 40s, from Araria and works as a labourer in construction sites in
Patna.
Similarly, Ansari, in his mid-50s and from Purnea town,
said he had voted for Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United in the last four
elections and would do so again.
"Nitish Kumar is our leader. We
live in peace, and development has taken place in the last 10 years,"
Ansari, a construction contractor, told IANS.
"Electricity is no
more a luxury for us. Roads have connected our towns and villages," he
added, explaining the reasons why he is loyal to Nitish Kumar.
Ahmad
and Ansari are two of hundreds of Muslims from the Seemanchal region
working in lowly paid jobs here who openly support Nitish Kumar and
aren't ready to accept Owaisi's brand of politics.
Owaisi, who
heads the Hyderabad-based All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, has
announced his decision to contest the Bihar assembly polls.
Ansari
said: "We are poor people, we don't want trouble. Owaisi and the BJP
are part of the same coin. We want to give another chance to Nitish
Kumar."
Another group of five labourers -- Mohd Salim, Manjoor,
Javed, Haroon and Shakir from Bhagalpur, which borders Seemanchal --
echoed similar views.
"We know only Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad, we will vote for them," said Salim, speaking here for the group.
But
Belal Mian and his friend Raju Mian, who work in a bakery here, said
they will support Owaisi's party if it contests from Patna.
Ahmad
Imam, a businessman in Patna, and Sami Khan, a writer in Nawada
district, also favour Owaisi whose electrifying speeches are known to
create waves among young Muslims in particular.
Speculation is
rife that Owaisi will field candidates in Muslim-dominated
constituencies in Seemanchal comprising Kishanganj, Purnea, Araria and
Katihar districts, accounting for 24 of Bihar's 243 assembly seats.
Muslim
intellectuals doubt if Owaisi can command the kind of support in Bihar
he does in Hyderabad -- or he did in parts of Maharashtra last year.
"Owaisi
is behaving like a BJP agent to help Hinduvta politics. But he is
unlikely to cut much ice in Bihar," said Abdul Qadir, who teaches
economics at Gaya's Mirza Ghalib College.
"Owaisi will find it
difficult to make inroads into the community," which is widely expected
to vote for the alliance of the JD-U, Rashtriya Janata Dal and the
Congress.
"But Owaisi's entry will certainly help anti-Muslim consolidation," added Arshad Ajmal, a political commentator.
Ajmal said Owaisi's party had contributed to the BJP's victory in the Maharashtra assembly polls.
Irshadul
Haque, a Dalit Muslim activist, felt Owaisi may make some impact and
the Bharatiya Janata Party will try to polarize Hindus to benefit from
his electoral presence.
"But most Muslims will not support him," said Haque, who hails from East Champaran district.
Asad
Rahman, who runs a school in Kishanganj district, insisted that Owaisi
will prove a spoiler for the JD-U and RJD and indirectly help the BJP.
Soroor Ahmad, a socio-political analyst, wanted to know why Owaisi was focussing only in Muslim-majority constituencies.
"Owaisi is only helping the BJP to polarize Hindu votes," Owaisi told IANS.
Muslims
form 16.5 percent of Bihar's 105 million population. In the Seemanchal
region, they account for nearly 67 percent in Kishanganj, 37 percent in
Purnea, 43 percent in Katihar and nearly 40 percent in Araria.
(Imran Khan can be contacted at imran.k@ians.in)
