The Missing Representation: Why Bihar’s Muslims Feel Betrayed by Secular Parties

In September this year, the Muslim Ekta Manch (Muslim Unity Forum) convened a meeting in Sherghati, located in Bihar’s Magadh region. Leaders from across the political spectrum, Congress, RJD, JD(U), among others—were present. One of them was Waris Khan, the state vice president of JD(U)’s minority wing, who demanded that Muslim candidates be fielded from Magadh.

He said, “Magadh should have Muslim candidates. Sherghati and Gurua have long been represented by Muslim MLAs. If any major party gives a ticket to a Muslim candidate from here, we will support them, even if it means going beyond party lines.”

Similar demands were voiced by RJD leader Laddan Khan, the block chief of Amas and a former representative of RJD MLA Manju Agrawal from Sherghati.

“There are ten Assembly seats in Gaya district,” he said, “but the INDIA alliance did not give a single ticket to a Muslim candidate. At least one seat should have gone to a Muslim. Sherghati alone has 52,000 Muslims, and Belaganj over 60,000. We are demanding that one of these two constituencies be given to a Muslim.”

Gaya is the largest district in the Magadh region, where, according to the 2011 Census, Muslims make up between 12 and 14 percent of the population. Of its ten Assembly constituencies, Bodhgaya, Barachatti, and Imamganj are reserved for Scheduled Castes, but seven are general seats—several of which were historically represented by Muslim legislators.

Captain Shahjahan, for instance, was elected several times from Sherghati and Gurua on a Congress ticket. Later, his son Khani Khan and RJD’s Shakeel Ahmad Khan, who held multiple ministerial portfolios between 2000 and 2010, carried that legacy forward. Shakeel contested the 2010 elections from Sherghati as an RJD candidate but lost to Vinod Yadav of JD(U). Similarly, Mohammad Latifur Rahman served two terms as Congress MLA from Gaya Town.

However, local social activist Shamsheer from Gaya expresses frustration not with the BJP, but with the so-called “secular” parties that fail to offer Muslims adequate representation. He recalls Rahul Gandhi’s often repeated slogan about giving representation according to population share and asks why that principle is ignored in practice.

“There are three or four constituencies,” Shamsheer says, “where Muslims form a strong presence—Belaganj, Gaya Town, and Sherghati. Yet since 2010, not one has been given to a Muslim. Magadh has 26 Assembly seats, but only two Muslim candidates contested last time, while ten more Yadavs did. The RJD gave tickets to Yadav candidates from Belaganj, Atri, and Gurua—and they won. But Sherghati was given to Manju Agrawal, who came from the RSS-affiliated Durga Vahini. Why not a Muslim?”

Manju Agrawal was indeed once associated with the RSS’s Durga Vahini and served as BJP’s Gaya district president. In 2010, when the Sherghati seat went to JD(U) under the NDA seat-sharing formula, she contested as an independent and secured over 10,000 votes. She again ran independently in 2015 after being denied a BJP ticket, and just before the 2020 elections, joined the RJD, which fielded her from the same seat. Her candidature triggered widespread anger within the Muslim community, prompting several district-level RJD leaders to resign in protest.

Data confirms that the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) has largely sidelined Muslim candidates in Magadh. Despite having a legacy of Muslim legislators on several seats, Congress did not field a single Muslim candidate in the last election.

Across 30 Assembly seats in Gaya, Aurangabad, Jehanabad, Arwal, Nawada, and Jamui, Congress contested eight but fielded no Muslim candidates. Of the remaining 22 seats, RJD contested 20 and fielded only two Muslims—Md. Kamran from Govindpur and Nehal from Rafiganj—both of whom won. CPI(ML) contested the other two. Thus, of the 30 seats in Magadh, the Grand Alliance gave tickets to only two Muslims.

According to Shamsheer, there was significant resentment among Muslims last time, and if the same pattern continues, the Mahagathbandhan could lose ground in the Magadh region.

In 2020, the alliance won 20 of Magadh’s 30 seats—RJD won 15, Congress 03, and CPI(ML) 02—while the NDA took 09, and an independent won 01.

Census data from 2011 shows Muslim populations of 22 percent in Aurangabad, 10–11 percent in Arwal, 12–13 percent in Nawada, and 7–8 percent in Jehanabad—percentages that have likely increased since then.

Researcher Md. Umar Ashraf, founder of Lost Muslim Heritage of Bihar, argues that the decline in Muslim representation stems from the Congress’s post-1990 collapse. “Before 1990, Muslims were adequately represented,” he notes.

While some attribute this decline to communal polarisation, Ashraf disagrees, “That’s a false argument. If Hindus had truly stopped voting for Muslims, not one Muslim could win anywhere. Polarisation does exist, but when strong parties field Muslim candidates, the effect is limited—perhaps 10 percent. For instance, Md. Kamran won from Govindpur, where Muslims are a small minority. Who voted for him? Mostly upper castes and Yadavs. Likewise, in 2015, CPI(ML)’s Anwar Husain contested from Pali and polled 19,438 votes. But in 2020, when CPI(ML) joined the alliance, his ticket was cut and given to Sandeep Saurav, who then won. Why deny a Muslim candidate a seat where his chances are growing?”

Ashraf argues that Congress has confined its Muslim representation to Seemanchal, while RJD sacrifices Muslim tickets to balance caste equations. Sherghati and Gurua, he says, are examples of this trend.

The 2023 caste survey shows that Bihar’s population comprises 63 percent OBCs (36 percent EBCs), 19.65 percent Dalits, 18 percent Muslims, and 15.5 percent upper castes—making Muslims the third-largest group after Dalits and OBCs.

Notably, the Seemanchal region has 24 constituencies across Purnia, Katihar, Kishanganj, and Araria districts. Politically, Seemanchal is crucial because of its 47 percent Muslim population, far higher than the state average of 18 percent.

According to Lost Muslim Heritage of Bihar’s study, Muslims have historically won from 90–95 Assembly constituencies. Yet while the BJP rarely fields Muslim candidates, even the “secular” parties have been reluctant.

In 2020, RJD contested 144 seats and fielded 16 Muslims; Congress contested 70 and fielded 11; and the Left, across 29 seats, fielded just 03 Muslims. Altogether, only 11.93 percent of Mahagathbandhan’s candidates were Muslim—around seven percentage points below their population share.

Over the past two decades, Muslim representation in the Bihar Assembly has declined: 24 MLAs in February 2005, 16 in October 2005, 19 in 2009, 24 in 2015, and 19 again in 2020.

Despite this, most Muslims continue to vote for the Mahagathbandhan, and most winning Muslim candidates come from this alliance. Interestingly, JD(U) remains the only NDA ally that consistently fields Muslim candidates—08 in 2020, though none won.

Former Bihar Congress chief Kaukab Qadri agrees that Muslim representation has dwindled. “From 1952 to 2000,” he says, “every district had at least one or two Muslim MLAs. But now Congress has restricted Muslim candidates to Seemanchal. In Magadh, Patna, Saran, Munger, and Bhagalpur divisions, Muslim leadership within Congress has vanished.”

He attributes this to the rise of BJP and coalition politics, “When BJP gained ground, Congress grew cautious and reduced Muslim tickets, fearing polarization. Coalition politics worsened the situation—earlier, the question was how many Muslims Congress fielded and how many won. Now, it’s how many the alliance gave and how many won. That shift diluted accountability.”

Qadri believes Congress must revive its traditional support base of Muslims, Dalits, and Brahmins. “Every other community has aligned with some party. Congress must again prioritize Muslims as much as upper castes,” he says.

Political analyst and former AN Sinha Institute director Dr. D.M. Diwakar sees Muslim underrepresentation as a symptom of political opportunism, “Muslim resentment over representation isn’t new,” he says. “Muslim voters tend to support winnable non-BJP candidates, Muslim or not. But political aspirations are rising—especially after the caste survey, which has made every community aware of its strength. Muslims, too, will now demand a share proportional to their numbers—particularly Pasmanda Muslims.”

Indeed, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has in recent years frequently invoked Pasmanda (backward) Muslims, often as a critique of elite Muslim leadership within Congress. Analysts believe the BJP seeks to politically divide Muslims through this strategy.

Former MP and Pasmanda leader Ali Anwar, who recently joined Congress, acknowledges Modi’s focus on Pasmandas but urges secular parties to respond constructively.

“For the first time in 140 years,” he says, “Congress has raised the slogan of ‘jitni abaadi, utna haq’ (representation proportional to population). That’s historic. We demand that secular parties allocate seats according to Muslim population share and within that, ensure fair representation for Pasmanda Muslims.”

Anwar adds, however, that secular parties hesitate to distinguish Pasmandas for fear of fragmenting the Muslim vote.

Since 1990, Bihar’s politics has revolved around two OBC leaders—Lalu Prasad Yadav and Nitish Kumar. Muslims formed an essential pillar of Lalu’s fifteen-year rule and continued to support RJD’s Yadav–Muslim coalition. While several Muslim leaders rose under Lalu, they never received tickets proportional to their numbers compared to Yadavs.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor have both attacked Lalu for exploiting Muslim votes without fair representation. Kishor recently remarked that “Lalu took Muslim votes but never gave them tickets in proportion to their population.”

RJD MLC Qari Sohaib disagrees, “No party in India gives Muslims as much representation as RJD. Of the 03 MLCs nominated in 2024, 02 were Muslim. Abdul Bari Siddiqui is our national general secretary; I am the national general secretary of RJD’s youth wing; and Akhtarul Islam Shaheen is the chief whip. RJD considers candidates based on winnability—just like every party. In Govindpur and Rafiganj, where Yadavs outnumber Muslims, we still fielded Muslim candidates and they won.”

Sohaib insists RJD has never hesitated to stand for Muslim issues. “Even if we had no Muslim MLA, RJD would oppose any anti-Muslim bill, unlike BJP, whose Muslim MPs would still vote for such a bill,” he says pointedly, suggesting that Congress’s caution should be viewed as “strategic restraint.”

Ultimately, Muslim representation has become a test case for the Mahagathbandhan. With multiple smaller parties including Owaisi’s AIMIM and Kishor’s Jan Suraaj—set to contest, the pressure on RJD and Congress to increase Muslim candidates is mounting.

Senior journalist Pushyamitra says, “Owaisi’s argument that if every caste can have its party, why not Muslims—and Kishor’s plan to field Muslim candidates from 40 seats—will push the Grand Alliance to give more tickets this time.”

He adds, “This pressure has already had an impact—Abdul Bari Siddiqui has been elevated within the party, and Tejashwi Yadav now ensures he sits beside him at every meeting.”

History offers perspective. Once, in undivided Bihar (including Jharkhand), there were 40 seats reserved for Muslims. Two major Muslim parties existed then—the Muslim Independent Party led by Barrister Mohammad Yunus and the Muslim United Party. In the 1937 provincial elections, the Congress and Muslim League had an electoral pact, but the Muslim Independent Party won 15 seats, the Muslim United Party 06, and the Congress 05, while the Muslim League won none.

In 1938, the Muslim United Party merged with the League, and by 1946, the League had won 34 of the 40 reserved seats. After independence, most League leaders joined Congress, ensuring Muslim political dominance under the Congress umbrella for decades—until the Bhagalpur riots broke that bond and Muslims began drifting toward socialist parties.

However, contemporary Muslim politics in Bihar continues to struggle with a deep crisis of representation and leadership. In the 2020 elections, Muslim votes played a decisive role, yet no strong leadership emerged from within the community. While the Mahagathbandhan benefited from Muslim support, Muslims largely remained dependent on others for political direction. This reflects a persistent reality — in Bihar, Muslim votes matter, but genuine leadership and meaningful participation in policy-making remain elusive.