2 ruling party Muslim leaders compete for MP seat

According to party sources, both the leaders have met the party convenors and have submitted letters demanding Rajya Sabha seat for them. However, Tamizh Magan Hussain submitted his letter towards the end of May and Anwar Raja followed him by submitting the letter in the first week of June. 

Anwar Raja served as Lok Sabha MP from 2014 to 2019 and during the tenure he served as Chairman of Tamil Nadu Waqf Board, under the MP quota. However, party refused to give him seat in the recently conducted Lok Sabha elections as he criticised BJP and its leaders on more than one occasion, including on the Triple Talaq issue. 

Party sources also said that BJP being an alliance partner pressurised the AIADMK leadership indirectly not to give seat for Anwar Raja in the elections. But in the meantime DMK’s influence in Waqf Board increased due to the win of IUML Ramanathapuram MP Nawas Kani. 

According to sources close to the Waqf Board, there are 12 members in the board and DMK and its allies have occupied close to half the strength of the board. 

Another source in the AIADMK said that the post of Waqf Board Chairman is a prestigious post and every ruling party will like to hold it, but as Anwar Raja is no more an MP, the post is now lying vacant. So, the AIADMK will try to regain the Chairman post by sending any one of the Muslim leaders to the Rajya Sabha. But as Anwar Raja is not in the good books of the party leadership and the BJP, he is unlikely to be made MP, said the source. 

However, when Anwar Raja met Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, he had informed him that he will cooperate with the leadership and will not be critical about the BJP. 

On the other hand, Tamizh Magan Hussain, who is a founder member of the party, informed the party leadership that he had never been an MP or MLA in his 65 years of political career and requested them to give him a chance. Tamizh Magan Hussain also has served as Chairman of Waqf Board before Anwar Raja and is a likely candidate for the Chairman post. 

The tenure of six Rajya Sabha MPs from the state is getting over on July 24 and the election for the six seats will be conducted by the end of June. 

AIADMK and DMK can elect three MLAs each, but in AIADMK several leaders who were either not given seats or who have lost the elections are pressurising the party leadership for Rajya Sabha berth. PMK and BJP are also pressurising the AIADMK to allot single Rajya Sabha seat, each, for them.