The results of the Haryana assembly elections came as a shocker for the Congress party and the psephologists as the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) created history in the state by pulling off a surprising win for the third time in a row. While the BJP managed to consolidate the non-Jat votes, the Congress party as it always has, enjoyed the support of Muslims. The consolidation of votes on the basis of caste and religion is not new, however, what is particularly noteworthy is that an accused in the anti-Hindu Nuh violence won maximum votes.
Congress leader Maman Khan, accused in the Nuh attack against Hindus during Shobhayatra, won from the Ferozpur Jhirka seat with a massive margin of nearly 1 lakh votes.
The Muslim leader of Congress won a whopping 1,30,497 votes while the BJP candidate from the Ferozpur Jhirka seat, Nasim Ahmed could only get 32,056 votes. The winning margin of Maman Khan was 98,441, which is the highest margin registered in the Haryana elections in 2024. In 2019, Maman Khan contested on a Congress ticket and won 58% of the vote with a margin of 37,000 votes from Ferozpur Jhirka. With these numbers, it would appear that Maman Khan was rewarded electorally for his involvement in the attack on Hindus during the 2023 violence in Nuh.
Maman Khan and the Nuh anti-Hindu riots connection
On the 31st of July 2023, Islamists attacked the Jalabhishek Yatra of Hindus, killing several and injuring dozens of people, including police officials. While Congress and the usual suspects tried their best to put the blame for the violence on Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal, investigations uncovered that the attacks on the Hindu procession were pre-planned. Notably, Congress leader Maman Khan is facing UAPA charges for inciting the violence. He was arrested on the 14th of September 2023, and was later granted bail on the 4th of October, 2023 in the Nuh violence cases.
The police had said that before the anti-Hindu violence erupted in Nuh, Maman Khan had arranged for money (Rs 500 each) to be delivered to the miscreants through local sarpanchs. Moreover, it was alleged that incendiary posts were spread via WhatsApp groups bearing Maman Khan’s name including Youth Team Maman Khan and IT Cell Maman Khan.
Back then, Nuh superintendent of police Narender Bijarniya had said, “He [Maman Khan] played an important role in spreading rumours during the Nuh violence and was in touch with some suspects involved in pelting stones and setting vehicles on fire. He has also been accused of paying people to attack the Braj Mandal yatra and create a ruckus.”
Out on bail, Maman Khan continued making inflammatory speeches during the poll rallies. Last month, it was reported that the Congress leader allegedly threatened that as soon as the Congress party came to power in Haryana, certain people would be ousted from Mewat, a Muslim-dominated area. As per the 2011 census, the religion-based breakup of Mewat’s population stands at 79.20% Muslim, 20.37% Hindu, 0.11% Christian, 0.05% Sikh, and 0.05% Buddhist.
During a poll rally in Bewa village, Maman Khan warned that some people had done ‘injustice’ to Mewat’s children. When Congress forms the government, they will be forced to leave Mewat.
Speaking about the anti-Hindu Nuh riots, Maman Khan said: “I know that when this incident happened, the stoves were not lit in many houses. The government put me in jail without any reason, but we should not lose courage. My family and your family are not different. We all have one family. We should not be sad that the stove was not lit in my house, the stove was not lit in your house. My child did not eat roti, your child did not eat roti. Everyone is in pain. Everyone knows. The time will come and the government will be formed. Insha Allah. I know each and every one of those cruel people who have done injustice to our children. I know each and every one of them. I will not spare those who have given the list under any circumstances. They will have to leave Mewat, they will not be able to live here and will have to go out.”
The BJP had said that Maman Khan was issuing a veiled threat to Hindus and if Congress is voted to power, Hindus will be forced to leave Mewat. While the Congress party may have failed to win a majority to form a government, Maman Khan has won the Ferozpur Jhirka seat with a historic margin.
Making Maman Khan win, especially by such a large margin in Haryana, demonstrates that the Muslim populace dislikes the BJP’s Muslim candidate. This means that even if the BJP fields a Muslim candidate, Muslims will not vote for him. They would rather vote for someone who has been accused of rioting than vote for a BJP candidate. Perhaps, they are more interested in ensuring that Islamist is their elected representative and that development, infrastructure, jobs etc are secondary or non-issues for them.
Further, the unprecedented of Maman Khan, given that he had threatened Hindus during his campaigning and has proved his anti-Hindu credentials with his involvement in the Nuh violence signals potentially difficult times for the Hindus of the Mewat region. The BJP has long believed in ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’. However, it is evident that the Muslim electorate is in no romance with the idea of “development for all” even if the BJP fields a Muslim candidate. It is about defeating the party itself even at the cost of sectarian politics and policies.
Notably, from cybercrimes, sextortion, and more, Mewat has been a crime hotspot. Mewat is also infamous as ‘Mini Pakistan’ and has been a hotbed of anti-Hindu crimes.
As reported earlier, other than Maman Khan, Congress’s Aftab Ahmed secured a victory in Nuh with a margin of over 46,963 votes. Similarly, Mohammad Ilyas from Punahana won the seat by 31,916 votes, marking Congress’s stronghold in Muslim-majority regions.
