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As Maharashtra braces itself for a five-cornered contest following the breakups in two major alliances, the number of Muslim candidates entering the poll fray has gone up compared to the 2009 elections.
The total number of candidates fielded by the four major parties - Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena - along with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) is 1,356 for the 288 Assembly constituencies this year as compared to 705 in 2009. Of this, the number of Muslim candidates contesting elections has shot up to 45 against 19 in the 2009 assembly polls, a more than two-fold increase.
Muslim candidates now constitute 3.3% of the total candidates fielded, against 2.7% in 2009.
The Congress party has fielded 19 Muslim candidates, the highest for any party this year. It had 12 Muslim candidates in the fray last time, when it contested 170 assembly seats in alliance with the NCP.
The NCP has increased its number of Muslim candidates substantially to 16. It will contest 286 seats this year. In 2009, the party had fielded four Muslims in the 113 seats it had contested in alliance with the Congress.
The BJP has brought in two Muslim faces, while in 2009, only one Muslim candidate had contested the polls. It is contesting 257 seats this year.
The Shiv Sena will field one Muslim candidate this year, the same as last polls. The Sena had contested 160 seats in alliance with BJP in 2009.
Both the Congress-NCP and BJP-Shiv Sena combines came undone days before the deadline for filing nominations because of differences over seat-sharing arrangements.
The MNS, which has fielded candidates in 239 constituencies as compared to 143 in 2009, has put up seven Muslim candidates this time as compared to just one in the last Assembly polls.
Malegaon constituency will see 17 Muslim candidates of various parties battling it out to enter the assembly this year. The seat was won by Mufti Ismail Abdul Khaliq in 2009 who contested on a Jan Surajya Shakti Party ticket. This time, however, he will contest on an NCP ticket.
There is only one non-Muslim candidate Rajesh Mangu More who will fight on the ticket of Mayawati-lead Bahujan Samaj Party in Malegaon.
The state will go to polls on October 15 and the results will be declared on October 19.
