A Muslim group led by Maulana Sajjad Naumani, a religious scholar based in Mumbai, has offered its support to 269 candidates of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in the elections to the Maharashtra state assembly on November 20.
Naumani also declared support to candidates from parties like the Samajwadi Party, Azad Samaj Party, AIMIM, and independents in other seats. The aim of the support, he announced at a press conference on Wednesday, was to defeat the forces that are challenging the country's constitution. The list of candidates to be supported was drawn up after research, ground reports, and surveys that were done over a month, Naumani said.
“Maharashtra polls have generated considerable attention given the current political situation in the country. We, along with eminent scholars, activists and opinion makers from across communities in the state, have some important suggestions regarding the assembly elections in the best interest of our country and society,” said Nomani.
The candidates who will get the group's support will include 169 Marathas, 53 from Scheduled Caste and Schedules Tribe groups, 23 Muslims, and the rest from other groups.
Dr Azimuddin, a social activist, and president of the group. Movement for Human Welfare, read out the list of candidates who will receive their support. This includes Varun Sardesai and Aditya Thackeray, the Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate from Bandra (East); Asif Zakaria, Amin Patel, and Naseem Khan of the Congress from Bandra (West), Mumbadevi, and Chandivali respectively; Abu Azmi of the Samajwadi Party in Mankhurd-Shivaji Nagar; Fahad Ahmad, the NCP (Sharad Pawar)'s candidate from Anushakti Nagar, apart from other seats.
“We expect 100% of the electorate to take part in the election. The election effects the country's future. Every election is a symbol of our democracy,” added Nomani.
Naumani and Azimuddin, however, refused to answer questions from the media, explaining that they only had the list of candidates who had their support. They did not answer questions about the section of the electorate that they represented.
