Congress leader refuses to be star campaigner: 'Have no answers to Muslims'

The Congress leader said he is disappointed that his party and the MVA did not field a single Muslim candidate in Maharashtra.

Maharashtra Congress leader and former state minister Arif (Naseem) Khan has written to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge declining to be the party's star campaigner for the party candidates for the third, fourth and fifth phases as the Congress coalition has not fielded a single Muslim candidate in the state. "I have no answers to Muslims..." the Congress leader said resigning from the campaign committee of the Maharashtra Lok Sabha election 2024.

Ahead of the election, the Maharashtra Congress saw some major exits and the angle of alleged 'Muslim apathy' is not new either. When Baba Siddique left the Congress and joined Ajit Pawar's NCP, he said as a Muslim leader he was treated by the Congress like curry leaves -- only for flavouring.

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Echoing the same disenchantment, Arif Khan wrote the Maha Vikas Aghadi -- a coalition of the Congress, Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena and Sharad Pawar's NCP -- has not nominated a single Muslim in the 48 seats.

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"Many Muslim organizations, leaders and also party workers from all over Maharashtra was expecting Congress to at least nominate one candidate but unfortunately Congress has also not nominated single Muslim candidate. Now they are asking Congress ko Muslim vote chahiye...candidate kyun nahi? And I am also upset with party's unfair decision. Before this whenever party had given me election responsibility of states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Goa, West Bengal, Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra and other states, I have executed it gracefully with my full efforts in favr of party. Due to all this I will not be able to face and I have no answers to Muslims and other Muslim organizations in Maharashrra who always raise such issues," Arif Naseem Khan wrote.

The Muslim Voter Council of India earlier shot off a letter to Kharge, Sharad Pawar and Uddhav on the same issue of not fielding a Muslim candidate from Maharashtra. Under MVA's seat-sharing arrangement, Uddhav Sena is contesting 21 seats, Congress 17 and Sharad Pawar's NCP 10.

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