Four states and one Union territory will go to polls in the current election cycle, with a total of 824 MLAs being elected. This makes it the largest in terms of total MLAs being elected in all assembly election cycles in the country. However, the current election cycle is even more important for another reason - it is the most critical election from the perspective of Muslim representation.
An HT analysis of all MLAs elected in the latest assembly election shows that these four states and Puducherry accounted for 41.6% of all Muslims MLAs in the country. The share of Muslim MLAs in the country is 6.8%, significantly smaller than their overall population share of 14.2%, according to the 2011 census.
The top three states by number of Muslim MLAs excluding Uttar Pradesh - West Bengal, Kerala and Assam - in the country are going to polls in the current election cycle, making it the most crucial for Muslim representation in the country.
The intra-state distribution of Muslims in a state's population is the reason behind the unequal share of Muslim MLAs in Indian states and UTs. An HT mapping of the 279 ACs which elected a Muslim MLA in their latest election shows that 44% of them came from districts which had a Muslim population share of over 50%.
