‘ISLAM’ Party must unite with Shiv Sena for the larger interest of Malegaon
Asif Shaikh, his father Shaikh Rasheed, Mufti Ismael, Mustaqeem Dignity and his mentor Nehal Ahmed all leaders of Malegaon have – in some way or the other, joined hands with the BJP and Shiv Sena in the past
[(L) Shaikh Rasheed and Dada Bhuse in a file image. Dada Bhuse with Asif Shaikh at the latter's residence during a recent visit.]
The Malegaon Municipal Corporation (MMC) Election 2026 has thrown interesting results. Former Congress MLA Asif Shaikh’s Indian Secular Largest Assembly of Maharashtra, abbreviated as “ISLAM”, has emerged as the single largest party winning 35 of the total 84 seats.
Samajwadi Party (SP), which had formed an alliance named Malegaon Secular Front with the ISLAM Party, has won 05 seats. Together, the two parties have won a total of 40 seats – 03 short of the magic number needed to elect their Mayor.
This leaves the Malegaon Secular Front of needing the support of other parties to rule the Malegaon Municipal Corporation. Realizing this, Mustaqeem Dignity – President of Malegaon Samajwadi Party and co-founder of the Malegaon Secular Front, has invited local MLA and AIMIM leader Mufti Ismael Qasmi to join hands and come together for the “development of Malegaon” and “to keep the communal forces away”.
On his part, Mufti Ismael Qasmi welcomed the move and accepted the proposal of a talk to “strike a deal” with the Malegaon Secular Front.
Communal onslaught against Malegaon
Malegaon has always been branded as a communally sensitive city because the majority of the city’s population is of Muslims. This tag changed after the 2006 and 2008 bomb blasts for which the right wing Hindu terrorists were blamed and charged.
However, the city once again faced the onslaught of the communal forces after the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections when the sitting BJP MP lost from here. Some BJP leaders frequently visited the city to incite communal tension, with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis himself accusing the people of Malegaon of “vote jihad”.
A lot of hue and cry was also made with regard to the issuance of “fake birth certificates to illegal migrants”. All these allegations were blown into thin air after the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probed the charges and found nothing.
Branding of Malegaon started once again soon after the BJP swept majority of the 29 corporations of Maharashtra where elections were held last week. Those in the mainstream media, who were angry over the people of Malegaon for voting in favour of the Congress candidate in the 2024 Parliamentary Elections, were upset again and questioned the Malegaonians for supporting the “ISLAM Party” while whole of the state sided with the BJP. This despite the fact that even the Hindus of Malegaon rejected the BJP as it contested from the 20 Hindu dominated wards of Malegaon, and won just 02.
Demography of Malegaon
Looking at the demography of Malegaon, the Textile City is divided into two parts. The Eastern Part of the City is dominated by Muslims whereas the Western Part has Hindus as majority. Of the total 84 members in the Malegaon Municipal Corporation, the majority – 60 to 62 members, come from the Muslim dominated Eastern Part of the City whereas 22 to 24 come from the Hindu majority Western Part.
Owing to the demography of the city, the political parties led by Muslims fielded candidates in the areas dominated by Muslims whereas the BJP, Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) and Shiv Sena (UBT) contested in the Hindu dominated areas.
The Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) which is led by Dada Bhuse, Education Minister of Maharashtra, won 18 seats, the BJP 02 and the Shiv Sena (UBT) none.
The Malegaon Civic Body always had Muslim members in majority. Despite this the City had seen Hindus as the President, Deputy Mayor, Standing Committee Chairman, and on other key posts of the Civic Body, though this has happened because of the political compulsions.
A Chance for Malegaon’s Muslim Leadership
After the 2026 Civic Elections, Malegaon Mayor can be elected without the support of the Shiv Sena and the BJP as was the case in the past. However, to save Malegaon from the onslaught of the BJP and communal forces, the Muslim leadership of the City should invite the Shiv Sena (Dada Bhuse) for power sharing.
As against the most parts of Maharashtra and India, Muslims in Malegaon are in majority, and will set an example if they embrace the “Big Brother Role” and invite Shiv Sena to share power in the Malegaon Corporation in the present scenario.
Asif Shaikh, his father Shaikh Rasheed, Mufti Ismael, Mustaqeem Dignity and his mentor Nehal Ahmed all have – in some way or the other, joined hands with the BJP and Shiv Sena in the past. These leaders, despite political differences, are also on a good term with Shiv Sena leader Dada Bhuse, and have repeatedly sought his help on various matters. So this will not be the first time if they again “commit such a crime”.
On his part, Dada Bhuse has of late led a number of initiatives related to development of Malegaon and its textile industry. Also, as a Minister in the present government, Dada Bhuse with or without power in the Malegaon Corporation, will anyway remain one of the power centres. Hence, inviting him to share the power in Malegaon Municipal Corporation will not only help development of the City but will also leave the right wing groups with little room to play communal card.
The move is also necessary for Asif Shaikh to re-brand his “ISLAM Party” which is being maligned in the mainstream media. Interestingly, Mufti Ismail had faced a similar situation in 2008 when his Teesra Mahaz had emerged as the single largest party after the local elections.
Back then, Mufti Ismail too had two options – to align with the Congress or join hands with the Shiv Sena. Mufti Ismail had almost chosen the second option, but the Congress Central leadership, realising that Mufti-Sena alliance will sabotage its politics, thwarted his plan, and forced the local leadership led by Asif Shaikh’s father Shaikh Rasheed to help Teesra Mahaz elect its Mayor. Later events revealed Mufti Ismail had planned a Political Masterstroke, but instead committed a Political Blunder.
A Political Masterstroke in the present situation is more important, and in the interest of Malegaon than 2008. Asif Shaikh is on the crux of creating history. Good or bad, he has to choose.
[The writer, Aleem Faizee, is Founder Editor of ummid.com. Aleem Faizee has also worked as a Researcher at Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and with Action Aid for its research work published as “BROKEN PROMISES -A study on the socio-economic status of Indian Muslims: Seven years post Sachar”. His research work “Mollywood: The Rise and Fall of a Subaltern Cinema” is part of the book “Creative Industries in India” published by Routledge India of Taylor and Francis Group, London. A prolific writer, Aleem Faizee has also wrote for The Times of India as a Freelance Journalist for over 10 years.]
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