Congress Muslim leaders seek at least 1 LS ticket for one of them

NEW DELHI: Already divided over whether to forge an alliance with the AAP, the Delhi Congress faces fresh trouble with its senior Muslim leaders resenting that they may be denied party tickets in the Lok Sabha polls.

In a letter to Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday, a group of five ex-MLAs –three of them having been elected five times to Delhi assembly –has sought fielding of a Muslim leader either from Chandni Chowk or North East Delhi Lok Sabha seats.

The resentment by the Muslim leaders of the party's Delhi unit has come to the fore days before finalisation of the list of candidates on seven parliamentary seats in the capital.

The letter signed by Mateen Ahmad, Shoiab Iqbal, Hasan Ahmed and Asif Mohammad Khan also mentions the name of Delhi Congress working president Haroon Yusuf, a five-time MLA, for consideration of the party ticket from Delhi.

Besides Haroon Yusuf, Mateen Ahmad and Shoiab Iqbal too were elected five times, while Hasan Ahmed and Asif Mohammad Khan were elected twice to the Delhi legislative assembly.

"Keeping in view the number of Muslim votes, the contribution and track record of winning elections by the five Muslim leaders, one ticket must be given to anyone of them either from Chandni Chowk or North East Delhi parliamentary seat," the leaders said in the letter.

All the five leaders are "very popular" among the Muslims and other communities and "very active", said the letter addressed to Gandhi.