23 April,2009 07:39 AM IST | | Imran Gowhar
Minority groups in Karnataka, that's been torn by communal tension in recent times, are ganging up against the BJP.
Muslims have been told that every vote of theirs should go to non-BJP candidates. And the diktat comes from the Karnataka Muslim Muttahida Mahaj (MMM), a federation of Muslim associations.
MMM convenor Abdul Masood said, "We've asked people to vote for the Congress in 23 constituencies and for the JD(S) in the remaining five." Refusing to admit that the decision was communal, Masood said it was based on a survey on development and secularism issues.
"Our appeal is not to only one community, we appeal to each and every voter... we want people who don't promote hate speeches," he said.
This decision may go against the interests of Congress candidate H T Sangliana as many Muslim leaders have decided to vote in favour of the JD (S) candidate instead.
"We used to vote for Congress but this time we decided against it as we do not see Sangliana as the right candidate," a local community leader said.
Even the Catholic church has been telling members, through banners and speeches, to vote for the candidate who will safeguard secularism and minority rights.
Over the last few weeks, every parish has been advising the people to go out and vote wisely, in the wake of the recent attacks against churches. A local priest said, "Nowhere have we announced our decision to favour any party... but we've given general guidelines to vote for a secular fabric because we believe the Christian electorate and voter can discern the party that stands for these values and objectives."
