The Muslim community’s representation in Lok Sabha from Rajasthan has been negligible since the first general election held in 1952. Among the 317 MPs elected from the State in the past 15 Lok Sabha elections, only one Muslim, Capt. Ayub Khan, was elected on the Congress ticket from Jhunjhunu twice, first in 1984 and subsequently in 1991. Political observers point out that the community’s representation from Rajasthan is perhaps the minimum among the States where its population is above 5 per cent. Muslim population in Rajasthan is 11.4 per cent.
Till 1980s, Congress had preferred to give ticket to a Muslim from Marwar region in western Rajasthan. The party later fielded candidates from Churu, Jhunjhunu, Bharatpur, Jhalawar, Ajmer and Churu. However, Muslim candidates lost by a big margin even in the Muslim-dominated constituencies in most of the elections. Sikar-based political analyst Ashfaq Kayamkhani points out that Congress, either by overlooking or by design, always fielded Muslims from the seats where there was a negligible scope for their victory.