He, however, did not share the same affinity for Jawed. His vote, though, would still go to the incumbent Congress candidate because that, he believes, is in the best interests of his community.
“Jawed has done nothing for us, neither has he ever paid a visit, but I would vote for the party because I believe my community lives safer and peacefully under its government. Although it has not improved the conditions of Muslims overall, it has not made life worse by doing the politics of mandir-masjid,” said an impassioned Alam.
Alam was not alone in his community in backing the party to the hilt. Some 20 kilometres away, the sentiment was all too similar in Kathaldangi village.
Speaking with ThePrint, Zilani Ansari (50) from Kathaldangi also said Congress is his “preferred choice”. Others like Ibrahim Shah (61) and his nephew Rakmuddin (48) expressed the same sentiment.
All these voters have a common cause, peace and harmony, status quo in society, and no politics over mosques and temples, for preferring the Congress in the past and now.
They, however, said the Congress is facing a challenge this election because the party could not axe Jawed, who has failed to establish any connection with his voters and remains nearly unaware of them.
“Jawed did not come to our village and never attended a public meeting at the nearby madrasa, even when he had come to meet one of his loyalists in the village. On the contrary, Mujahid Alam (of JD(U)) has been coming and meeting us and attending meetings at our madrassa,” Ibrahim Shah told ThePrint. “It’s a contest because the candidate is Jawed, or else it was a clean sweep for the Congress,” he added.
Kishanganj is a key seat for the grand alliance of the Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal, and Left parties in Bihar. It was the only constituency where the Mahagathbandhan tasted success in 2019, when Mohammad Jawed from the Congress defeated Syed Mahmood Ashraf of the JD(U), albeit by a low margin of 30,000 votes, approximately.
Also read: ‘Was told I got votes due to upar wale log’ — Bihar MP Ajay Nishad, who quit BJP after ticket denial
AIMIM new but finds some ground
The Kathaldangi villagers said that JD(U)’s Mujahid Alam — not AIMIM’s Akhtarul Iman — will give stiff competition to the Congress candidate this election because Mujahid is seen in the village on various occasions while Jawed is nowhere to be seen.
AIMIM is still a new player in the constituency and would “take time” to become a challenger to the Congress in a national election, they said.
However, Mal Basti’s Alam went off on a tirade against Owaisi, saying that the AIMIM chief has been fielding candidates from seats where Muslims form an overwhelming majority, leading to a loss of votes for the Congress or other parties in alliance with it.
He said Owaisi’s best could not stop the BJP, but AIMIM chipping away at the votes of the Opposition would benefit the BJP — a charge the Opposition has levelled against Owaisi in the past.
“Why should I vote for a party that, in turn, benefits the BJP? How many MPs can they have, maximum?” Alam asked.
But Kathaldangi villagers were not so critical, calling AIMIM an emerging player in the constituency and rating the party a no-factor in their village and neighbouring ones.
“It’s the last opportunity for Jawed this time. If he does not improve his performance, we will seek an alternative,” Ibrahim Shah said.
Former Kishanganj zila parishad chairman, Taseeruddin, was campaigning for AIMIM in Galgalia Pul village when ThePrint caught up with him.
Taseeruddin said the AIMIM has three essential messages for the people — Jawed’s absence from the constituency, Owaisi’s outspoken stand against the BJP on issues concerning the Muslim community, and the silence of the Congress, in contrast.
“The Muslim majority in Kishanganj has voted for both RJD and Congress in the past, but neither got the dignity nor the economic benefits that other loyal voter bases of those parties got. Now, they have made up their minds to give AIMIM a chance,” Taseeruddin told ThePrint.
Tanveer Rizvi (36), who owns shops in the Thakurganj market, said Jawed has failed as a parliamentarian and that the Kishanganj MP has not set foot in the market once.
Another businessman, Waseem Akram, said he would vote for the AIMIM as would hundreds of people in his circle. Owaisi has made the Muslim community’s voice heard in Parliament, he said.
“Have you ever seen Jawed raising his voice against hate speeches against Muslims? Congress has not permitted him to do so. Neither he nor the party has any interest in raising Muslims’ voices. We have given them seven decades, but enough is enough,” Akram told ThePrint.
Also read: ‘We got seats we did not ask for’ — Congress leaders upset over Bihar seat-sharing deal with RJD
Two groups make contest interesting
Kishanganj has approximately 12 lakh voters, including eight lakh Muslim voters, according to the last census, held in 2011.
Almost 50 percent of these eight lakh voters are Surjapuri Muslims, the indigenous population of the constituency, and another two-and-a-half lakh are Shershahbadi Muslims, believed to have migrated from West Bengal’s Murshidabad district, data collected by political parties in Kishanganj showed.
All three prominent candidates are Surjapuri Muslims, with the community expected to vote any of the three ways coming Friday. However, the Shershahbadi votes are seemingly consolidated in favour of AIMIM’s Akhtarul Iman, both JD(U) and Congress leaders in Kishanganj said.
“It’s the community that comes under attack on the issue of illegal migration, NRC (National Register of Citizens), CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act), and hence chances are that it will vote for AIMIM en bloc,” said a senior JD(U) leader, requesting anonymity.
Due to this, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar addressed the Shershahbadi Muslims at a meeting Tuesday, warning the community of provocation by one party and false promises by another, he added.
The JD(U) leader said the consolidation of Shershabadi votes behind the AIMIM would cost both Mohammad Jawed and Akhtarul Iman, and give Mujahid Alam a real shot by consolidating a bulk of the Hindu votes in Kishanganj because of the JD(U)’s alliance with the BJP.
There was a gap of three to four percentage points in the vote shares of the three parties in the last Lok Sabha election in 2019. The winning Congress won 33 percent of the votes, JD(U) 30 percent, and AIMIM 26 percent.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
Also read: These 6 states are key for Modi’s ‘400 paar’ target. They’re also where Opposition can stop him