Delhi elections: 108 Muslims contesting

New Delhi, Dec 2: Approximately 108

are likely to contest the

this year, which is a slight increase from five years ago. Ironically, Delhi has a Muslim population of 11% out of 16 million.

But, there are just 5 Muslim legislators. The parties that placed the maximum number of Muslim candidates, accounting 11, are the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party.

Wednesday's ballot will elect a 70-member legislature and the total participating heads is 810. Out of these, 108 are Muslims, as compared to 92 (out of 875) in 2008.

Interestingly, more than half a dozen of the 70 constituencies in Delhi constitute 30-40 percent Muslims. These include Okhla, Mustafabad, Seelampur, Ballimaran and Matia Mahal. Maximum number of Muslim candidates come from Okhla.

Currently, out of the five Muslim legislators, four are from ruling Congress.

OneIndia News