By Zaidul Haque, TwoCircles.net,

Kolkata: While the Left Front regime has got a humiliating defeat, the Muslim community has made good use of the rush of political parties to win Muslims heart in the just concluded assembly election in West Bengal. The Muslims will now constitute about 20% of the 294 seats of the state assembly. According to the assembly poll results announced yesterday, 59 Muslim candidates have got elected this time, 13 more from the 2006 poll. Among 59, there are 7 women, that is 5 more than the last assembly poll.



A file picture of West Bengal Legislative Assembly. Photo by The Hindu.com

After 35 years, Red Bengal has been changed into green. CPIM-led Left Front government has been thrown out by the people as they gave huge majority of 226 seats to the Trinamool Congress-Congress alliance in the 294-seat Assembly. Central Railway Minister and Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee swept the Left bastion of West Bengal. The Left has got 61 seats (CPIM 40, CPI 2, All India Forward Block 11, Revolutionary Socialist Party 7 & Samajwadi Party 1).

Trinamool Congress alliance has 40 Muslim MLAs

Support TwoCircles



The number of Muslim MLAs has increased from 46 to 59 in this poll. And it is not surprising that majority of new Muslim MLAs are from the Trinamool alliance. In the previous Assembly, Left Front had 34 Muslim MLAs (CPIM 25, All India Forward Block 4, Revolutionary Socialist Party 4 and West Bengal Samajwadi Party 1). Now it has been decreased to 18 in this poll (CPIM 13, AIFB 2, RSP 2 and SP 1).

The heavy majority of Muslim MLAs now are from Trinamool alliance (TMC 25, Congress 15). Most of them are new faces. Retired Muslim IPS and renowned police officer Haider Aziz Safwi won Uluberia Purba constituency of Howrah district. Retired Judge of Kolkata High Court Justice Noore Alam Chowdhuri has won from Murarai of Birbhum district. Besides, killing of computer designer Rizwanur Rahman was an important election issue of Mamata Banerjee. She had fielded Rizwanur Rahman’s elder brother Rukbanur Rahman and he has won from Chapra seat in Nadia district.

7 Muslim women elected to Assembly

As the number of Muslim MLAs has increased, the number of Muslim women MLAs has also gone up from just 2 in 2006 to 7 in 2011.

In Nandigram byelection in 2009 Phiroja Bibi, whose son was killed during the infamous police firing in the area, had been elected from the constituency on Trinamool Congress ticket. Bibi has retained the seat. Garments industry area of Kolkata is Metiaburuz. Mumtaz Begum has won the seat also on Trinamool ticket. Begum is three time ward councilor in her area. Firdousi Begum, a ward councilor in Sonarpur Uttar constituency of South 24 Parganas, has also won the seat while Mahamuda Begum has got elected from Kumarganj constituency of North Dinajpur district. All four won on TMC ticket. Two Muslim women have won on Congress ticket — Sabina Yasmin form Mothabari of Malda district and Feroza Begum from Raninagar of Murshidabad. CPIM has just one Muslim woman MLA –Jahanara Khatun won from Jamuria of Burdwan district.

Murshidabad elects 15 Muslim MLAs

Of 59 Muslim MLAs, 15 have been elected in Murshidabad district. Will it change the condition of the most backward Muslim dominated district of West Bengal? Only time will tell.

CM lost, so did Muslim ministers

Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee of CPIM lost Jadavpur constituency which he had been winning since 1987. Muslim ministers of Left Front except Abdur Razzak Molla have met the same fate. Minority Affairs & Madrasa Education Minister of State Abdus Sattar lost Amdanga of North 24 Parganas and Agriculture, Marketing & Relief Minister of State Dr Mortaza Hossain lost Deganga of North 24 Parganas while Anwarul Haque, Minister of State, Health and Family Welfare lost his Chopra seat of North Dinajpur

Newly elected Muslim MLAs in West Bengal, 2011

Constituency Candidates Sex Party Amdanga Rafiqur Rahaman Male All India Trinamool Congress Deganga Dr.M Nurruzzaman Male All India Trinamool Congress Haroa Julfikar Molla Male All India Trinamool Congress Mograhat Paschim Giasuddin Molla Male All India Trinamool Congress Kasba Ahmed Javed Khan Male All India Trinamool Congress Sonarpur Uttar Firdousi Begum Female All India Trinamool Congress Metiaburuj Mamtaj Begam Female All India Trinamool Congress Kolkataport Firhad Hakim Male All India Trinamool Congress Panchla Gulsan Mullick MALE All India Trinamool Congress Uluberia Purba Haider Aziz Safwi MALE All India Trinamool Congress Jagatballavpur Abul Kasem Molla MALE All India Trinamool Congress Champdani Muzaffar Khan MALE All India Trinamool Congress Purshura Parvez Rahman MALE All India Trinamool Congress Khanakul Iqbal Ahmed MALE All India Trinamool Congress Panskura Paschim Omar Ali MALE All India Trinamool Congress Nandigram Phiroja Bibi FEMALE All India Trinamool Congress Memari Abul Hasem Mondal MALE All India Trinamool Congress Ketugram Sekh Sahonawez MALE All India Trinamool Congress Raniganj Ali Sohrab MALE All India Trinamool Congress Islampur Abdul Karim Chowdhary Male All India Trinamool Congress Kumarganj Mahamuda Begam Female All India Trinamool Congress Kaliganj Nasiruddin Ahamed Male All India Trinamul Congress Chapra Rukbanur Rahman Male All India Trinamul Congress Labhpur Monirul Islam Male All India Trinamul Congress Murarai Nure Alam Chowdhury Male All India Trinamul Congress Hariharpara Insar Ali Biswas Male Communist Party of India (Marxist) Domkal Anisur Rahaman Male Communist Party of India (Marxist) Jalangi Abdur Razzak Mondal Male Communist Party of India (Marxist) Palashipara S.M. Sadi Male Communist Party of India (Marxist) Samseganj Touab Ali Male Communist Party ofIndia (Marxist) Basirhat Uttar Mostafa Bin Quasem Male Communist Party ofIndia (Marxist) Canning Purba Abdur Razzak Molla Male Communist Party ofIndia (Marxist) Bhangore Badal Jamadar Male Communist Party ofIndia (Marxist) Pandua Amjad Hossain Sk. MALE Communist Party ofIndia (Marxist) Monteswar Chowdhury Md Hedayatullah MALE Communist Party ofIndia (Marxist) Kharagpur Nazmul Haque MALE Communist Party ofIndia (Marxist) Mangalkot Sajahan Chowdhury MALE Communist Party ofIndia (Marxist) Jamuria Jahanara Khan FEMALE Communist Party ofIndia (Marxist) Chakulia Ali Imran Ramz Male All India Forward Block Harischandrapur Tajmul Hossain Male All India Forward Block Malatipur Abdur Rahim Boxi Male Revolutionary Socialist party Bharatpur Saikh Id Mohammad Male Revolutionary Socialist party Bhagwangola Chand Mohammad Male Samajbadi Party Baduria Abdul Gaffar Quazi Male Indian National Congress Goalpokhor Md. Ghulam Rabbani Male Indian National Congress Chanchal Asif Mehbub Male Indian National Congress Mothabari Sabina Yeasmin Female Indian National Congress Sujapur Abu Nasar Khan Choudhury Male Indian National Congress Baisnabnagar Isha Khan Choudhury Male Indian National Congress Farakka Mainul Haque Male Indian National Congress Suti Emani Biswas Male Indian National Congress Jangipur Md. Sohrab Male Indian National Congress Raghunathganj Akhruzzaman Male Indian National Congress Lalgola Abu Hena Male Indian National Congress Raninagar Firoza Begam Female Indian National Congress Rejinagar Humayun Kabir Male Indian National Congress Beldanga Safiujjaman Seikh Male Indian National Congress Naoda Abu Taher Khan Male Indian National Congress Chopra Hamidul Rahaman Male Independent