Last week, on November 5th, a study by Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) revealed that the number of illegal immigrants, especially Muslims from Bangladesh and Myanmar, has been on the rise in Mumbai and that certain political parties have been using them as a voting bloc. The study, conducted by TISS pro-vice-chancellor Shankar Das and assistant professor Souvik Mondal, also said that illegal immigrants are influencing the city’s socio-economy by taking low-skilled employment, resulting in pay suppression and annoyance among locals.
The findings of the study titled ‘Illegal Immigrants to Mumbai: Analysing Socio-economic and Political Consequences’ were presented at a private seminar in Mumbai’s TISS institute on 5th November. The chief guest and the keynote speaker of the event was Prof Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, VC, JNU, New Delhi.
“Some political entities are alleged to use illegal immigrants for vote-bank politics, which can disrupt the democratic process. Claims of voter registration manipulation, where undocumented immigrants allegedly obtain fake voter IDs, raise concerns about electoral fairness and the integrity of India’s democratic system,” the study found.
“Some politicians may support granting IDs or ration cards to migrants for votes but politics-driven migration increases polarization and can impact electoral outcomes, diverting focus from essential development,” it added. The study additionally claimed that a significant influx of Muslim immigrants had shifted religious demographics, contributing to feelings of insecurity and communal tensions, particularly within Mumbai’s Hindu communities. It also suggested a link between illegal immigration and increased crime rates in the city.
The authors of the study further happened to blame several NGOs and religious groups who end up helping these immigrants who cause to change the demography of the region and influence the economy and politics. “Due to strict regulations, registered NGOs often avoid assisting illegal immigrants, leaving undocumented NGOs to fill the support gap without legal authority to challenge exploitation or advocate for migrant rights,” the study read.
As per the reports, the authors of the study examined around 3000 immigrants but the report was presented early on the basis of 300 samples ahead of the state elections scheduled on 20th November. The immigrants considered for this study currently reside in Dharavi, Govandi, Mankhurd, Mahim West, and Ambedkar Nagar.
Muslim community mobilized 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra
It is crucial to note that OpIndia had after the Lok Sabha elections concluded in May-June 2024 reported that the Muslims had mobilized in the state of Maharashtra to specifically defeat BJP. The results of the Lok Sabha Elections were wild here with the Muslims extending support to parties other than BJP. The Shiv Sena led by CM Eknath Shinde secured 7 seats, and BJP won 9 seats, whereas parties like NCP (Sharad Pawar), Indian National Congress, and Shiv Sena (UBT) who garnered Muslim and Communist support secured 8, 13, and 9 seats respectively. It was clearly evident by this that the Muslims in the state of Maharashtra chose to vote for any party standing against the BJP and its allies.
Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra minister Deepak Kesarkar, a loyalist of chief minister Eknath Shinde then had issued a statement saying that it was because of ‘fatwas’ issued by Muslims against BJP that Shiv Sena (UBT) and INC, NCP (Sharad Pawar) could secure majority of the seats in Mumbai and several other parts of the state.
Notably, Islamists in the Pune region had issued fatwas against the BJP and had asked the Muslim voters to vote only for the candidates representing Congress, NCP (Sharad Pawar), and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) from the Pune, Shirur, Baramati and Mawal constituencies respectively. The declaration by the Islamist leaders was made at the ‘Taqreer By Hazrat Maulana Sajjad Nomani’ event organized by Kul Jamati Tanzeem Pune in the Kondwa region on 2nd May.
Jamiyat-Ulema-E-Hind (Pune) has issued a fatwa to vote for Congress+Pawar+UT Indi alliance candidates in Maharashtra.
— Mr Sinha (@MrSinha_) May 7, 2024
Dear Hindus, they're united… What are you waiting for? pic.twitter.com/b21lSrVZTa
During his speech, Nomani stated that every Muslim who is a voter today should exercise his right in favor of the community. He also instilled fear in the minds of the Muslims saying that if Modi came to power, all the Mazars and Madarsas would be razed to the ground. Islamic flags were also raised in the rally hosted by Shiv Sena (UBT) in Mumbai.
UBT च्या मिरवणुकित पाकिस्तान चा झेंडा !
— Nitesh Rane (@NiteshNRane) May 14, 2024
आता काय PFI , SIMI, AL QAEDA चे लोक मातोश्रीत बिर्याणी घेऊन जातील…
हे दाऊद च मुंबईत स्मारक पण बांधतील..
आणि म्हणे हा मा.बाळासाहेबांचा “असली संतान” pic.twitter.com/JA7pJcUx1d
Over 180 NGOs work to enrol Muslim voters, increase awareness
Amid the ongoing campaign for the upcoming elections scheduled on 20th November in the state, around 180 NGOs are working on the ground among the Muslim community to raise ‘awareness’ and increase the community’s voter turnout, the strategy that helped MVA during the Lok Sabha elections.
As per the reports, in predominantly Muslim areas like Shivaji Nagar, Mumbadevi, Byculla, and Malegaon Central, voter turnout was notably higher than in neighbouring assembly segments during the Lok Sabha election. Organizations have attributed this increase to a combination of Muslim voter concerns and awareness efforts directed at the community over the past year.
The Marathi Muslim Seva Sangh has collaborated with over 180 NGOs and these organizations work within Muslim communities to boost voter enrollment and awareness. The group has been organizing meetings and informational sessions with Muslim voters across the state. “This led to a voter turnout exceeding 60% in the Lok Sabha election, about 15% higher than the previous average. We urge Muslims to support secular candidates and vote in alignment with the Constitution. Our partnership with other organizations and religious leaders has brought a stronger response. Over 200 meetings have been held statewide, contributing to the increase in voter turnout,” said Fakir Mehmood Thakur, the organization’s leader.
#BreakingNews | महाराष्ट्र में बड़ी साजिश का खुलासा, BJP को हराने के लिए 400 NGO सक्रिय, जागरुकता के नाम पर BJP विरोधी माहौल #Maharashtra #AssemblyElection2024 #NGO @Chandans_live @pratyushkkhare pic.twitter.com/2VIvKcrPD3
— Zee News (@ZeeNews) November 8, 2024
Thakur also noted that Muslim voters’ concerns over central government policies, such as the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens, played a role in the high voting percentage, adding that these issues continue to resonate in the state elections.
Shakir Shaikh, coordinator of the Maharashtra Democratic Forum, shared that the forum conducted at least 70 meetings across the state, including 18 in Muslim-majority areas of Mumbai over the past two months. “Awareness and voter turnout among Muslims used to be quite low until recently. However, issues like the CAA, the Uniform Civil Code, and the Waqf Bill have motivated people to participate in voting. The awareness-building efforts and registration drive contributed to the high turnout in the Lok Sabha elections. In Mumbai alone, we have registered at least nine lakh new voters, and the response has been very encouraging,” he noted.
It is important to note that Marathi Muslim Seva Sangh has a history of glorifying Tipu Sultan who was one of the most ruthless Islamic invaders in India. There have been several recorded instances of Tipu’s army forcefully converting, raping, and kidnapping Hindus on his orders. Many temples are recorded to have been demolished under his reign. Several historians and researchers like Khan Hussain Ali Kirmani have recorded that Tipu Sultan had animosity toward the local Hindus and tribals in the area.
The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is boosting the intensity of its campaign, claiming that they are the only ones raising Muslim issues. The AIMIM wielded influence among Muslim youth in the 2014 and 2019 Assembly elections, as well as the Lok Sabha elections. After 2019, Muslims realized that they would have to vote tactically to ‘remove’ the BJP from power. This strengthened the MVA in Maharashtra. However, the community this time is believed to have expressed dissatisfaction with the candidates’ lack of representation.
Conclusion
Muslims in Mumbai are allegedly working for MVA, especially the Shiv Sena UBT with a zeal that has not been seen since the 2014 Lok Sabha elections when Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) swept them aside. At the time, a panicked Congress, aware of the Muslims’ dissatisfaction with it, invoked the specter of Gujarat 2002 to scare them into not dividing their votes. The plan worked; however, Muslim youth, delighted by a party that recognized them not as a vote bank but as equal citizens, pushed themselves into the campaigns for the 48 AAP candidates in Maharashtra.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) coalition received Maharashtra’s Muslim vote by default, even though it was not in the minds of Muslims. By then, lynchings and the ruling party’s facilitation of lynch mobs had become common. There was no choice but to vote for the party that stood up against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), even if its presence on the ground appeared to be non-existent, such as the Congress in Maharashtra. The party won one seat in the state it ruled for the past 15 years.
During the recent 2024 LS elections, the I.N.D.I.A. alliance became the obvious alternative not only for Muslims but for all those who opposed the BJP. As if the Muslims and the anti-BJP individuals had some particular theme to follow, ‘Candidate toh majboori hai, I.N.A.I Alliance zaruri hai.’ Then several ‘theories’ appeared in the market highlighting ‘vote jihad’ which was obviously downplayed by the leftist Islamist supporters as usual. However, this time the Muslims agreed to the fact that they mobilized the LS elections 2024 and that they have the power to change the political scenario in the upcoming elections too.
Notably, at least 9 lack Muslim voters have been newly registered in alone Mumbai by the Marathi Muslim Seva Sangh, posing a major challenge to the Mahayuti alliance led by the BJP. Muslim voters overwhelmingly supported and they would evidently continue to support parties like INC, NCP (Sharad Pawar), and Shiv Sena (UBT), given the former’s opposition to CAA and NRC. However, several non-Muslims too who believe in ‘secularism’ at such times ignore such dreadful community waves and end up supporting parties who wear the masks of ‘secularism’, but allegedly exist because of and for specific communities.
In the coming years, people, particularly non-Muslims, who tend to support the NCP (Sharad Pawar), Shiv Sena (UBT), and INC who have been obtaining positions based on Muslim votes would understand what a mistake they have been making in an endeavor to simply wrestle against the BJP.
The 288 legislative assembly seats will go to the polls in a single phase on November 20 while the counting of votes will take place on November 23.
