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Shahabuddin appeals to Muslims to vote Congress

The Insaf Morcha today rejected the Naib Imam's call to maintain equidistance from the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Lok Sabha elections, stating this to be a ploy aimed at helping the ruling party.

In a statement in New Delhi, Morcha convenor Syed Shahabuddin appealed to the electorate to fully back the Congress as it had emerged as a viable alternative to the BJP. The Congress and its allies constituted a major political force against the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, he claimed. Shahabuddin said the Morcha did not equate the Congress, 'a secular party', with the BJP. However, the Morcha had also extended its support to former prime minister H D Deve Gowda from Hasan and candidates belonging to the National Muslim League, Bahujan Samaj Party and RPI in certain constituencies.

He regretted the Congress's decision not to field Muslim candidates in Jalna in Maharashtra and Jaipur in Rajasthan which had a high concentration of minorities.

UNI

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