Lone Muslim-dominated town yearns for a change at Centre

This time, however, people in the town have decided to vote for a “secular party” to bring about a change at the Centre. “We want to eat with our Hindu brethren on one plate. We have been living in complete harmony with them all these decades. But the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is playing divisive politics. The ‘mangalsutra’ statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi smacks of the wedge they intend to create,” said Mohd Jameel of Qila Rehmatgarh in Malerkotla.

“We choose senior Mann because we love him. He has been a huge support to us. So, we voted for him in the by-election. But now, we want a change at the Centre. We want to vote for a party which can take over the reins of the country. Mann is a single-man force, so we will vote for the Congress,” he added.

Mohd Nazeer, another resident, who drives an autorickshaw for a living, said, “Our forefathers have been living in India since times immemorial. Now, we are living here. We chose to live here even after the partition. We are feeling like strangers in our own country. My forefathers are buried in Malerkotla. I will also die and be buried here. Where will we go now? We want to remain happily here. Please do not support forces vying to turn us out.”

“I cannot make more than Rs 200-300 per day driving an autorickshaw. Only I know how I am bringing up my children with prices of essential commodities shooting through the roof. We want a change.”

Mohd Rafiq, a construction mason, said that they had Hindu friends. “We go to their weddings. They come for ours.

We spend the evening together. But the country is seeing a divide that scares us as a minority. We do not feel safe.

We sometimes feel it will create a divide even in Punjab. We never felt this earlier. You see our iftar parties to know what we do. Our Hindu friends throw us iftar parties. But there are attempts to ruin this harmony.”

Kulwinder Singh, an agricultural equipment shopkeeper, said, “Muslim population decides which way Malerkotla go. They decide during elections. They outnumber us.”

Malerkotla often records high voter turnout. In the 2022 Assembly elections, the highest voter turnout was in Mansa (73.45 per cent), followed by Malerkotla (72.84 per cent). Mohammed Jamil Ur Rahman of the Aam Aadmi Party won the seat, defeating Razia Sultana of the Congress with a margin of 21,686 votes.