The minorities, not just Muslims but also Christians/dalit Christians, will be one of the most crucial factors in the coming elections in Andhra Pradesh.
With the TDP 'tainted' for having supported the BJP, Muslims are more reluctant than ever to support it. This, despite the urban, educated middle class minority segments sharing the general perception that the Naidu regime has performed well.
Though Muslims, who constitute 10 per cent of the A.P. electorate, have some pockets of influence in Rayalaseema and Andhra regions, it is in Telengana (15 Lok Sabha seats), that they are mostly concentrated.
(Apart from) Hyderabad ... held by Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) for the past one-and-a-half decades, there are many other constituencies like Secunderabad, Nizamabad, Medak, Karimnagar, Peddapally, Nalgonda, Mehbubnagar, Warangal, Hanamkonda and Adilabad, where Muslims are a force to reckon with.
In Rayalaseema, the Muslim voters are a decisive influence in constituencies like Nandyal, Kurnool, Cuddpah, Anantapur and Hindupur. And in the Andhra region it is the Guntur and Krishna districts where Muslims have a sizeable presence ...
Muslims, angered by the demolition of the Babari Masjid and subsequent atrocities, turned against the Congress in the 1994 general elections. The same trend continued in 1996. But the situation started changing from 1998 when the Congress saw a change in its leadership. While for the Muslims in Andhra and Rayalaseema, the Congress was no more pariah, the Telengana Muslims saved the day for the TDP. Out of the 12 seats the TDP won last year, half were from the Telengana region with a sizeable Muslim population. Even in Rayalaseema the Muslim-dominated Nandyal went to the TDP.
However, over the past year the alienation of Muslims from the TDP has increased (due) to its entry into the BJP. led alliance ... However, the party tried to regain its lost ground by reiterating its commitment to secularism and attacking the BJP government on issues such as Saraswati Vandana ... and attacks on Christians.
Despite all this, there is a big question mark on whether the Muslims will go with the TDP. A lot will also depend on whether the TDP goes in for an alliance, with the BJP ... The Congress, meanwhile, is closely watching the situation ... (Source: The Pioneer, 25 May, 1999)
