Politicians court Muslim votes in the district of Malerkotla

In the Lok Sabha seats of Sangrur and Fatehgarh Sahib, Muslims are seen as crucial to victory, so candidates and their allies are doing all in their power to win over these voters.

Leaders of the Congress, AAP, and BJP are attempting to court Muslim votes by actively participating in their religious and social events, despite the fact that SAD (A) chairman Simranjit Singh Mann apparently enjoys support from Muslim voters for highlighting the concerns of minorities in general and Muslims in particular.

Although it is well known that previous administrations have supported different Islamic organizations on Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Zuha, Ramzan, and Muharram, local officials flocked to Iftar events throughout Ramadan as a show of goodwill in advance of the local elections. Iftar gatherings and unique booths were arranged by a number of non-Muslim organizations at the locations of the Malerkotla, Amargarh, and Ahmedgarh Eid celebrations.

In an effort to win over voters in the subsequent election, the AAP also reorganized the Punjab Wakf Board and included influential members from different regions of the Sangrur and Fatehgarh Lok Sabha seats.

In the Malerkotla area, there has been a surge in the establishment of educational and medical institutions, defying previous patterns that Muslims were less educated. State-level officials of almost all political parties are contacting a number of Muslim physicians, bureaucrats, educators, and businesspeople to solicit their support for their respective candidates.

As to the most recent census, the Malerkotla district has 4,29,754 residents. Of them, 33.26 percent identify as Muslims and 50.89 percent as Sikhs. Hindus make up only 15.19 percent of the overall population. There are now around 1,59,000 registered voters in Malerkotla alone, of whom 74,000 are Muslim and 65,000 are Sikh. This leaves about 19,000 Hindu voters.