One of the interesting sub-strands of the Karnataka election results, a consolidation of Muslim votes in the region in favor of the Congress, was the first Muslim to lose on a Janata Dal (S) ticket since 2008. The party has a strong presence in Old Mysuru region, which has about 11% Muslim population.
Muslims looked to have united in support of the Congress, particularly in the Old Mysuru area, according to political observers, at the expense of Janata Dal (Secular), which often relies on the VM (Vokkaliga-Muslim) factor to win large in the region. The JD (S) was the only party that publicly opposed the halal debate and the hijab ban.
“Muslim voters in the Old Mysuru area have switched from the JD(S) to the Congress together with the Vokkaliga votes. The vote bank has rallied behind the Congress because of concern that the JD(S) would team up with the BJP, despite the fact that the JD(S) had taken a firm stance on the hijab issue in an effort to win over more Muslim voters, according to political analyst A Narayana.
In Karnataka, nine of the 15 Muslim candidates put up by the Congress won, while none of the 22 put forth by the JD(S) did. Five of the seven Muslim candidates that were elected in 2018 were affiliated with the Congress, while two were with the JD (S). 25 Muslim candidates received tickets from the two parties in that election; 17 from the Congress and 8 from the JD (S). In 2018 and 2023, the BJP did not put out any Muslim candidates.
Muslims’ votes are important in around 65 of the 224 seats in the state, according to political experts and party members. According to a study of the election results, the Congress was able to capture almost half of the 65 assembly seats that were important to Muslims. Muslims make up over 13% of the state’s population, according to Census 2011, the most recent data available.
The BJP won 12 of the 19 seats in coastal Karnataka, down from 16 in 2018. The JD (S) gained one seat, and the Congress won five seats as opposed to three in 2018. Only three of the 15 Muslim candidates for the Congress were from coastal Karnataka.
A number of policies were enacted by the BJP-led Basavaraj Bommai administration in Karnataka that were seen as being directed towards the Muslim population. In 2022, the government outlawed the hijab in all state pre-university campuses, sparking demonstrations in coastal Karnataka areas including Udupi, where the BJP won all five seats.
The Hijab ban’s enforcer and BJP leader BC Nagesh’s call for an economic boycott of Muslims were unsuccessful in his bid to win the Tiptur assembly seat in Tumkur district.
The BJP-led state legislature enacted legislation outlawing both the movement of animals and religious conversion in 2022. Halal meat was also demanded to be prohibited in the state by several BJP leaders.
Even though Bommai justified it by claiming that the Constitution forbids reservation on the basis of religion and that the community could still benefit from reservation under the 10% quota for economically disadvantaged sections, the BJP government’s decision to eliminate 4% of the 4% reservation for Muslims under the other backward classes category was seen as another assault on the minority population. The state staged a tactical retreat and said that it would not carry out the ruling once the case was challenged in the Supreme Court. The quota will be reinstated, the Congress has guaranteed.
Bans on groups like the Popular Front of India and the Bajrang Dal were pledged in the Congress programme. The Indian government has already outlawed PFI, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself reacted angrily to the party’s reference to the Bajrang Dal, an RSS offshoot. Congress leaders claim that the action was anticipated.
“We determined that the BJP would not achieve the Hindu cohesion it promised in its platform before include the Bajrang Dal in it. The cause was that, according to our polls, the BJP’s polarization campaign strategy peaked in the 2018 local elections. So, Bajrang Dal was a risk that paid off for us, according to a senior Congressman who wished to remain unnamed.
Despite the lack of statistics on Saturday to measure the Muslim vote consolidation in favor of the Congress, the India Today-Axis My exit polls from India on Wednesday predicted a 10% gain in Muslim votes for the Congress, and the results point to a similar pattern. For the Congress, Axis had predicted between 12 and 140 seats. The Congress received 136.
With 46 seats in Old Mysuru, a city in southern Karnataka, the Congress won 29, the JD (S) won 11, and the BJP took home 5. Congress won 11 seats in 2018 while JD (S) won 25. 9. The BJP won.
Similar to this, the Congress was able to defeat the BJP and gain more seats in the area (17) because to its performance in Bombay, Karnataka areas where Muslims may influence the outcome. This time, the BJP took 16, while the Congress won 33. In this area, the BJP won 30 of the 50 seats in 2018. “The only real secular party that cares about all groups is the Congress party. All communities, even the Muslims, have supported us because of this, according to Congressman MB Patil.
