Congress veteran banks on first-time MLA

MEWAT: During every visit to the Muslim-dominated Mewat, Congress Lok Sabha candidate Rao Dharampal has to virtually rely on Nuh MLA and state transport minister Aftab Ahmed to strike a chord with the minority electorate. Ahmed is the only Meo Muslim minister in the Haryana cabinet.
Aftab was seen addressing public meetings in most of the villages Dharampal visited in Mewat recently, including Gohana, Umra, Badarpur, Bhadas, Nagina, Mandi Khera, Rawli and Tigra Chowk.
A popular leader in the region crucial for Congress, considering that its nearly 4.8 lakh voters hold the key to the Gurgaon constituency, Aftab was the one at Congress district headquarters who appealed party supporters to make Sonia Gandhi's rally in Kherla village of Nuh on Monday a success.
Muslim votes are significant for Congress as they have traditionally supported sitting MP Rao Inderjit Singh, who recently switched sides and is contesting as a BJP candidate. This hasn't gone down well with the Muslim population here and Congress is leaving no stone unturned in convincing them to continue supporting the party despite change of candidates.
When asked if he was better suited to represent the party in the general elections, especially when the rival INLD has fielded Meo Muslim leader Zakir Hussain, Aftab said such decisions were taken by the Congress high command. "I'm a first-time MLA and the party probably needed a veteran like Rao Dharampal, who has represented people several times in the assembly," he said.
Ironically, the first-time MLA was seen introducing the "veteran" at almost all the public meetings in Mewat on Saturday. "Our candidate Rao sahib is hard-working, honest and sincere," said Aftab at one of the rallies on Saturday, appealing to the crowd to vote for the party's candidate.
However, the Congress decision to field Dharampal instead of a minority candidate from Gurgaon has raised a few eyebrows within the party itself. Local leader Akbar Kazmi, who recently broke ranks with Congress over the issue, said, "Had Congress given a ticket to Ahmed, I would have been with the party."
INLD, on the other hand, shrugs off the Aftab factor. "There is a difference between asking voters to vote for yourself and asking them for someone else. If Aftab had contested himself, the Meo-Muslim votes could have got divided," said INLD spokesperson R S Dahiya.