Sources have stated that the BJP, while announcing their first list of candidates for 31 out of 60 seats, approved candidates from the Meitei community even in areas which have large Muslim populations such as Keirao, Wabgai and Wangkhem.
India Today had reported that Md Anwar Hussain, the sole Muslim candidate who was approved by the party, will contest from Lilong a constituency with the largest Muslim population in the state. The next list is expected over the next couple of days. Md Salam Khan and Md Habibur Rehman, the BJP state unit president and vice president of Minority Morcha were also denied tickets. Rehman has now joined the JD (U) and will contest from Wagbai.
Khan, who has joined BJP in 2014 after being member of the
Congress for over 10 years, had sought to contest from Keirao seat. He had lost
out to L Rameshwor Meitei. Khan, expressing disappointment with the way the BJP
has distributed tickets, lamented the fact that the ticket had been given to an
individual who joined the BJP just two months ago. Khan said that while he
would remain with the BJP, the manner in which the tickets were distributed
made it more difficult for him to explain the BJP's intentions in the state to
the Muslim community.
He had also said this move made it more difficult to counter the Congress' propaganda that BJP wanted a minority-less government in Manipur. He said out of a total of 60 seats in Manipur there are 18 constituencies, where Muslim votes are swing factors, which BJP will now find it difficult to garner. "When you give ticket to Muslim for just one seat, that too for a constituency where the community is majority what is the message being sent out to the rest of population in the state?
