Congress looking for young Muslim face to woo Delhi minorities

The Delhi unit of Congress is reportedly making a serious attempt to woo back its Muslim voters in the city. The party’s city unit is said to be busy in revamping its defunct minority cell. 

Sources said the party was also looking for a young Muslim leader who could reach out to the community members at the grass root level. It is learnt that the party’s Delhi unit has already finalized the name of the person who would be leading its minority cell. But the local leaders are now awaiting the approval from the party high command before making any formal announcement.

There are indications that Delhi Pradesh Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely, MLA Haroon Yusuf and chief spokesperson Mukesh Sharma are backing the candidature of Mehdi Majid, chairman of Indian Youth Congress & Cultural Affairs. 

The Congress dissolved all its district committee and other cells about three months ago for an overall revamp. The party had appointed 28 observers at the grass root level for feedback to ensure that only the genuine people were appointed in its various bodies. The mammoth revamp exercise is being done in view of the party’s humiliating defeat in the assembly and Lok Sabha elections. 

The main reason for the party’s worst ever performance in the Lok Sabha elections was the fact that its Muslim voters had in large numbers switched their loyalty to Aam Aadmi Party.

In the 70 assembly seats in Delhi, Muslim voters play a crucial role in Mustafabad, Seelampur, Matia Mahal, Okhla, Babarpur, Trilokpuri, Gandhi Nagar, Sultanpuri Majra, Jangpura and Karawal Nagar constituencies. 

‘We need to address to the concerns of the community. We have to win them back,’ a senior Congress leader said.

Mehdi Majid is the only Muslim to have contested DUSU (Delhi University Students Union) elections in 1991 and managed to secure over 8,000 votes.