On December 3, Shahi Imam Shabbir Ahmed Siddiqui of Ahmedabad Jama Masjid urged Muslim voters to vote for a single party and not divide the votes as it happened in 2012. Notably, the first phase of the Assembly Elections in Gujarat took place on December 1. The second phase and final phase of the elections are scheduled for December 5. The voters will cast their votes in Ahmedabad during the second phase. The statement given by the Shahi Imam to ABP News came just two days before the scheduled voting in the city.
2012 should not be repeated, said, Imam
Recalling the 2012 elections, Siddiqui said in a statement to ABP news that the Muslims are messaging on WhatsApp and reminding each other of the 2012 elections. During the 2012 elections, the Muslim-majority seat of Jamalpur was won by the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate as the Muslim votes were divided.
The Imam further added that the Muslims have only one thing in mind their votes should not get divided and one candidate representing them should win. In 2012, local leader Sabir Kabliwala contested Jamalpur’s seat against the Muslim candidate fielded by Congress and bagged over 30,000 votes. As a result, BJP managed to win the seat with a margin of 6,000 votes. In the ongoing elections, Kabliwala has been fielded by AIMIM from Jamalpur’s seat.
Imam’s statement on AAP and AIMIM
Speaking about the future of AAP in Gujarat, Siddiqui said, “There is no room for a third party in Gujarat. Many have come here before and all of them went back defeated.”
Speaking about AIMIM, he said, “Even if Owaisi’s 4-5 MLAs win, what are they going to do in the assembly? Even in Uttar Pradesh, his meetings and rallies were crowded, but what happened in the results?” He added, “Muslims have enmity with BJP. Now, what is the meaning of taking enmity with Congress? Muslims should vote only for the Congress party.”
‘Muslims know Congress used them for vote bank’
Speaking to OpIndia about the statement given by the Imam, Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from Jamalpur Bhushan Ashok Mittal said, “Congress only has limited options when it comes to voting bank. They are trying to retain their votes. However, Muslims are now becoming aware they were being used only for the vote bank.”