9 Congress Muslim candidates win in Karnataka Assembly elections

The Congress made a surprising comeback in Karnataka on Saturday, gaining 135 of the 224 Assembly seats. The BJP, which won 66 seats, lost its only southern state of power.

The Congress appears to have benefited from the consolidation of Muslim votes, which account for roughly 13 per cent of the state's electorate. The party has committed to reinstating a 4 per cent quota for Muslims, which was removed by the previous BJP government.

It is important to note that these were the state's first Assembly elections since the hijab controversy and the government's five-year ban on the Islamist outfit Popular Front of India (PFI).

The Congress gave tickets to 15 Muslim candidates, with nine of them winning. The JD(S) fielded 23 Muslim candidates; however, none were successful.

Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM contested for two seats but received only 0.02 per cent of the vote. The SDPI, the PFI's political arm, suffered the same fate since none of its 16 candidates were able to create bank accounts.

Rahim Khan received 10,659 votes in Bidar; UT Khader Fareed received 22,977 votes in Mangalore; Tanveer Sait received 31,091 votes in Narasimharaja (Mysuru); Asif (Raju) Sait received 4,551 votes in Belagavi North; Rizwan Arshad received 23,198 votes in Shivajinagar; B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan received 53,983 votes in Chamrajpet; H A Iqbal Hussain.

The Congress fielded only one Muslim woman candidate, Fatima, the sitting MLA from Gulbarga North.

Only two of the nine Muslim candidates were re-elected: Asif (Raju) Sait and Iqbal Hussain. The remaining seven will be attending their first Assembly.

Also Read: Karnataka Result 2023: BJP wins Bengaluru's 'prestigious' Jayanagar seat by 16 votes