A CORRESPONDENT
SILCHAR: A section of Muslim traders played a trick to consolidate minority votes in favour of the BJP for the sake of their business interest, and that led to the defeat of the Congress in Karimganj Lok Sabha seat, stated Hafiz Rashid Ahmed Chowdhury. The Congress candidate who lost to the BJP's Kripanath Mallah by a margin of 18,360 votes, however admitted that the State government's resolution to accord special status to backward sections of the Muslim community like the Maimals (fishermen) helped swing some minority votes to the BJP. But Chowdhury particularly blamed a section of Muslim traders for their 'betrayal of the minority cause only for personal and business interest'. "These traders enticed a section of Muslim voters to vote for the BJP," Chowdhury alleged.
In a meeting held at the Karimganj Congress office to introspect over the election result as well as to express gratitude to party workers, Chowdhury said that the delimitation exercise had made Karimganj LS seat more winnable for the Congress due to the demography and the community-wise population pattern. But finally, a section of Muslims preferred their own interest to the overall betterment of the community, he rued.
Chowdhury, a prominent advocate and an active minority rights movement leader joined the Congress only after the Karimganj LS seat was made unreserved by the delimitation exercise. One of the founder members of the AIUDF, Chowdhury was known for his anti-Congress stance throughout his long political career. However, the altered demographic equation in Karimganj LS seat doubled his chances of winning after the AIUDF candidate Sahabul Islam Chowdhury miserably failed to cast any impact on his voters. But Chowdhury lacked in organisational strength in comparison to his BJP opponent Kripanath Mallah, which put paid to his electoral chances.
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