With the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) not appointing any Muslims for the post of Vijayapura District Congress Committee (DCC) in the past, the demand for the post is getting intense among the Congress leaders of the community here. Several leaders say that the Congress has been using Muslims as a mere vote-bank without giving adequate political representation based on their population.
“Consider the case of Vijayapura. Vijayapura has decisive Muslim voters who play a vital role in election, mainly for the Congress. Even the Congress leaders have candidly admitted that Muslim votes are critical for the Congress, yet when it comes to giving prominent role in the party, the community is conveniently neglected,” said Congress leader, Mohammed Rafiq Tapal.
He said post Independence, not a single member of the community has been made as DCC president here despite the community significant support to the Congress in almost every election.
“If we look at KPCC there is a negligible represenation of Muslims. Are we not eligible for the post or don’t we deserve political representation in the Congress,” Mr. Tapal said.
Speaking to The Hindu, another leader said that Muslims have no representation in the zilla panchayat.
“Not a single Muslim is a ZP member in Vijayapura district. Many non-Muslim leaders need our support for posts but when we demand a prominent post, not many non-Muslims leaders lend their support. Should the Muslims remain only as voters for the Congress,” asked another leader.
The leaders also said that they have already began building pressure on the KPCC to appoint any Muslim for the post of DCC president.