Papanasam MLA and Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK) President MH Jawahirullah has appealed to all major political parties—DMK, AIADMK, and Congress to ensure better legislative representation for Muslims in Tamil Nadu. Highlighting that Muslims constitute approximately 7% of the state’s population, he demanded at least 14 assembly seats out of the 234 constituencies in the upcoming elections.
The MMK held a consultative meeting in Dindigul on 25 June 2025, where Jawahirullah addressed party executives and later spoke to the media. During his interaction, he emphasized that, based on the Muslim population share of 7.18%, the party would be seeking a greater number of seats in the next assembly elections.
Speaking about the parliamentary representation, Jawahirullah said, “In the 2024 parliamentary elections, only 24 Muslim Members of Parliament (MPs) were elected. In a Lok Sabha with 543 members, Muslims, who constitute 15% of the country’s population, should ideally have at least 80 seats. Not only in these parliamentary elections, over the past 75 years since independence, but the number of Muslim MPs has also never exceeded 5% in a general fact. This stark reality extends to various state legislative assemblies across India as well. Out of a total of 4,123 MLAs nationwide, only 296 are Muslims MLAs. Not only this, in major municipal corporations like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Allahabad, Ahmedabad, Patna, and Bengaluru, Muslim representation does not align with their population percentage. This is prevalent across all levels of local governance, from village panchayat chiefs to city mayors. To highlight this grave injustice and demand fair representation, the Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK) is organizing a rally and conference in Madurai on July 6th.”
He added, “In Tamil Nadu, Muslims make up 7% of the population. Considering there are 234 Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) in the state, there should ideally be 14 Muslim MLAs. We aren’t making this demand solely for ourselves. Our general plea to all political parties—be it the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Congress, or the opposition AIADMK—is to acknowledge the insufficient representation of Muslims when nominating candidates for elections and to ensure they receive due representation.”
He also responded to recent remarks made by former Tamil Nadu BJP chief K. Annamalai at the Murugan Devotees Conference, where Annamalai claimed that the Muslim population had reached 200 crore all over world. Jawahirullah dismissed this as misinformation, stating that the Muslim population is actually in decline, and said he has evidence to support this claim.
Jawahirullah criticized the BJP for allegedly attempting to rewrite Indian history and condemned the silence of AIADMK leaders, who, he said, failed to immediately denounce a video shown at the Murugan Devotees Conference that portrayed Dravidian icons Anna and EV Ramasamy Naicker (also known as Periyar by his followers) in a negative light. According to him, such content is designed to undermine the legacy of social justice movements in Tamil Nadu.
Calling for unity among parties, he stressed the importance of safeguarding minority representation in the legislature. “Whether it is the ruling DMK, opposition AIADMK, or the Congress, all parties must ensure that Muslim voices are not sidelined in the assembly,” he said.
He praised the current state government’s efforts in maintaining law and order, claiming that Tamil Nadu fares better than many other states in terms of safety and criminal justice. He attributed the state’s progressive social structure to leaders like EVR and Anna, whose efforts, he said, ensured political inclusion for backward and marginalized communities.
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