Asif Mohammad Khan, MLA from Okhla who recently joined the Congress from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) told IANS: "It is due to my chances of winning that the Congress has given me a ticket."
Okhla constituency will see the maximum number of Muslim candidates. Of the total 18 candidates, 11 are Muslims.
Senior Congress leaders had expressed serious reservations over Khan being given the party ticket as he has several criminal charges against him. But the backing of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit got him the ticket, Congress party sources said..
The main opposition BJP has fielded a lone Muslim candidate in Mohammad Nizamuddin, an advocate from Matia Mahal. which is the stronghold of four-time sitting Janata Dal-United legislator Shoaib Iqbal. Iqbal quit the Lok Janshakti Party to join JD-U in October this year.
Asked the reason for fielding just one Muslim, Delhi BJP chief Vijay Goel told IANS: "We don't see religion, we see the winnability of the candidates. We give tickets to those who are deserving."
The fledgling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has fielded six Muslim candidates in its debut year, including prominent party face Shazia Ilmi.
Ilmi will contest against Congress' sitting MLA Barkha Singh in R.K. Puram in south Delhi which has few Muslims.
With AAP creating ripples on the political landscape of Delhi, it would be interesting to see whether it can eat into the Congress' Muslim vote share.
