Muhammed Arif ‘Naseem’ Khan, a prominent leader within the Maharashtra Congress, has decided to step down from his role in the party’s campaign committee, citing his dissatisfaction with the party’s failure to nominate any Muslim leaders in the state. In a letter addressed to party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Khan expressed his reluctance to campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections due to the absence of Muslim candidates from the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition.
Turbulence hits the #Congress in #Maharashtra as senior leader and former minister Muhammed Arif ‘Naseem’ Khan quits as a star campaigner for the remaining rounds of the #LokSabha polls. Khan, a four-term MLA from #Mumbai, was vying for a nomination from the Mumbai North Central… pic.twitter.com/DOUBuiCOcU
— Dhaval Kulkarni (धवल कुलकर्णी) 🇮🇳 (@dhavalkulkarni) April 26, 2024
Khan emphasized the disappointment felt by numerous Muslim organizations, leaders, and party members across Maharashtra regarding the absence of representation for the minority community in the Congress nominations. He highlighted the queries raised by party supporters questioning the party’s eagerness to garner Muslim votes without providing suitable candidates from the community.
Citing these concerns, Khan declared his inability to justify the party’s decisions to the Muslim electorate and announced his resignation from the Maharashtra Congress Campaign Committee. The Congress, in alliance with the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) within the MVA opposition bloc, is contesting 17 out of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra.
Khan’s disappointment stems from his own aspirations for a ticket from Mumbai North Central, a constituency for which the party ultimately selected city unit president Varsha Gaikwad. Despite his efforts, Khan lost the 2019 assembly elections in Chandivali, Mumbai, by a slim margin of 409 votes.
In a separate statement to PTI, Khan lamented what he perceives as a departure from the Congress’s traditional stance of inclusivity.
