Memory of a Riot, Wanting Development – What's Shaping Bengaluru's Muslim Vote?

Certain seats in Bengaluru have a significant Muslim population, but the math isn't as simple as it is reduced to.

When DJ Halli, an area in East Bengaluru, was consumed by a riot in August 2020, the direct target of the anger of its residents — a significant number of Muslims — was the local MLA, Akhanda Srinivas Murthy. His house was set on fire, and protest marches taken out against him.

The Congress leader had won the 2018 elections from the Pulakeshinagar constituency by the highest margin of victory seen in the state that year. He had previously been the MLA from the same seat in 2013-18 from a Janata Dal (Secular) ticket.

For a leader this popular to attract the ire of his constituents – this was no ordinary development. It is perhaps for this reason that the Congress did not give him a ticket this time around, wary of how it may be perceived by the Muslim constituents. But this is still a gamble.

For one, Pulakeshinagar is a reserved seat (for Scheduled Caste candidates), with a significant population of Dalits, most of whom continue to emphatically back Murthy. And second, even among the Muslim population, while there is bitterness over what transpired in 2020, there continues to be a section that sympathises with Murthy, who is now contesting from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

Like Pulakeshinagar, there are some other seats in Bengaluru, where Muslims account for a significant number, and yet the ‘math’ isn’t as easy as many reduce minority-populous seats to be. The Quint visited these constituencies to get a sense of the complexity of the politics playing out there.

DJ Halli Riots, Looking Past Anger Against Popular MLA

Pulakeshinagar, formerly known as Fraser town, has mostly seen a friendly relationship between the two communities residing there – Dalits and Muslims—both in high numbers. “Even now, there are no issues between Dalits and Muslims here. Our problem is only with the MLA for failing to think about Muslims,” says Barkat Khan, a laborer in DJ Halli area.

In August 20202, P. Naveen Kumar, nephew of MLA R. Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy, posted a status on his Facebook targeting Islam and prophet Muhammad. In a matter of hours, screenshots of his status spread across the WhatsApp of the residents, who rushed to the police station along with Muzammil Pasha, a local SDPI leader, to file a complaint. But the residents felt the police isn’t acting swiftly enough, presumably to protect Naveen Kumar, due to his proximity with the MLA. Subsequently, the mob from the Muslim community set the police station on fire as well as the house of the MLA. The police in response opened fire, killing three.

“In retrospect, Muslims know we shouldn’t have set the police station and MLA’s house on fire. That was wrong. But at that moment, there was so much anger that the MLA we so passionately support is staying mum, just to protect his nephew,” adds Abrar, standing along with Barkat, next to the reconstructed DJ Halli police station.

Like Barkat and Abrar, there are some other Muslims who are supporting the new Congress candidate A.C. Srinivasa, Murthy’s replacement. “It’s not just the fact that he (Murthy) tried to protect his nephew. The bigger issue is that so many of our Muslim boys were arrested under the SC/ST Act and some under more grave charges also. It’s been three years but so many continue to be in jail, that’s what makes people upset with Murthy,” says Mohammad Fayaz, participating in a Congress rally.

Just last month, the Karnataka High Court rejected a petition filed by a UAPA accused in the DJ Halli riots, saying that prima facie the ingredients of the Act seemed to be meeting.

Most of the support for Srinivasa is primarily support for Congress, and also anger against Murthy. But that doesn't mean it will be an easy ride for Srinivasa.

“Srinivasa lives several kilometers away from here, he doesn’t even live in this constituency. Whereas Murthy is just a stone-throw away from us,” says Murgan, a car driver in DJ Halli.

Most Dalits in the area seem to be strongly backing Murthy. “He has done a lot of the development of this area. For example, he built this football ground that helped the children here and also the overall image of this area,” says Suresh Babu, a resident.

There are also a good chunk of Muslims who are willing to look past the DJ Halli riots and support Murthy. “If tomorrow I do something wrong, will you blame me, or curse my parents? It will be my fault. Similarly, we shouldn’t blame Murthy for the fault of his nephew. We (Muslims) should look past it and support Murthy because he has genuinely been good for this area,” says Muzammil Ahmed, 24, supporting BSP this time.

The Pulakeshinagar constituency is also an interesting reflection of what is playing out within the Congress at a macro level in the state—the cold war between its two top leaders D.K. Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah. Murthy had switched from JD(S) to Congress on the invite of Siddaramaiah in 2018.

Murthy, while leaving, made it clear that DK Shivakumar was against him.

No BJP Threat In This Seat, Yet Support For SDPI Minimal

The Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) is contesting in just 16 seats in Karnataka, coming down from earlier making claims of planning to throw its hat in at least 100 seats . From these 16, 2 lie in Bengaluru: Pulakeshinagar and Sarvagnanagar—both neighboring constituencies.

In both the seats, the residents are aware of the SDPI candidate, even appreciative of the party, but unsure if they are convinced to vote for them.

“It’s important to have political parties who support us in times of crisis. Tomorrow, if our sisters are stopped from wearing the hijab on the road, like they have been stopped in colleges, SDPI is more likely to stand up for us than Congress, that’s a fact,” says Naushad Ali, a shopkeeper in Sarvagnanagar.

Argument against minority-representing parties like the SDPI is usually that they end up ‘cutting’ the votes, and thus enable the victory of BJP. “But there is no real threat of BJP entering this seat. But still you won’t see much support for SDPI here. Because people know that even if SDPI wins from this seat, ultimately what matters is who is in power in the state. They are the ones who make policy decisions, so people are inclined to stick to Congress,” says Ubaidallah Khan, another resident.

The SDPI has never won any election, and after its parent organisation PFI was banned last year, the party has evidently had to cut down on resources. But some view the party suspiciously. “If PFI was banned, why wasn’t SDPI? Doesn’t this mean that BJP benefits from having SDPI around?,” asked a resident.

Chickpet: BJP MLA's Support From Section of Muslims

The Chickpet assembly constituency, which is a hub for small businesses, is seeing a tight contest from multiple players.

First, two old rivals—Congress' R.V. Devraj and BJP’s Uday Garudachar. While Devraj had won the seat in 2013, Garudachar was able to defeat him in 2018. Then there is a rebel Congress candidate, Yusuf Sharif, popularly known as KGF Babu, contesting independently. Babu is a billionaire businessman, and lately reached out to the constituents with promises of cash rewards and housing schemes. Besides Babu, the other Muslim candidate in the fray is JDS’ Imran Pasha. And finally, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has also fielded a candidate here: Brijesh Kalappa.

Amid all this, however, many residents seemed to give BJP’s Garudachar an edge.

“He is from BJP, yes. But he doesn’t discriminate against Muslims. He has also done a lot of development work here and he has a good understanding with the locals,” said Shareef Kalimullah, a shopkeeper in the massive Chickpet market.

4-Time Muslim MLA Vs Former Police Commissioner

Besides these, two other seats in Bengaluru that have a vast Muslim population are Shivajinagar and Chamrajpet. After Shivajingar MLA Roshan Baig resigned from the Congress in 2019, Rizwan Arshad contested the by-polls and managed to retain the seat for the party. Despite being a relatively newer name and face to the constituency, he seems to have gained popularity and good-will fairly quickly here, and has been given a ticket by the Congress again.

Congress’ most popular Muslim face in the state Zameer Ahmed Khan and 4-time MLA from Chamrajpet is confident for another victory in the constituency. BJP has fielded former police commissioner Bhaskar Rao as a candidate who can potentially appeal to people across communities, but that seems unlikely at the time. “Zameer Ahmed Khan has done a lot for the poor here, a new candidate will have to work for several years to reach his level of popularity here,” says Arun Kumar.