MAHA CIVIC POLLS: “NO EDUCATION, NO VOTES,” WARNS MUSLIM WELFARE ASSOCIATION CHIEF SALEEM SARANG
National Bulletin Network (NBN)
Mumbai: Ahead of the January 15 Maharashtra municipal corporation elections, the Muslim Welfare Association (MWA) has drawn a non-negotiable red line for political parties. The association announced on Friday that only educated candidates will get community support, while those relying on slogans, symbolism and tokenism will be shown the door.
In a clear political intervention, the MWA said it will back only socially committed educated candidates who place education, reservation, social justice and the empowerment of Muslim, Bahujan and marginalised communities at the centre of their civic poll agenda.
Saleem Sarang, national president of the Muslim Welfare Association, while speaking to National Bulletin, said, “Support will be extended only to candidates who fight for the rights, dignity and equal opportunities of Muslim, Bahujan and marginalised communities, and who are educated enough to deliver results, not rhetoric.”
Sarang said the organisation was done with “hollow assurances and election-time theatrics.” He added, “Education is the strongest tool to bring marginalised communities into the mainstream. We are not interested in ghoshnabazi anymore. Show us delivery, not declarations.”
With all 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra, including Mumbai, going to the polls on January 15, 2026, the MWA said the civic elections were the right moment to force accountability at the grassroots level. Candidates with clear, time-bound plans for quality education, youth skill development and social empowerment will receive the organisation’s active backing, Sarang added.
The association also made it clear that its support will be statewide, cutting across Mumbai-Konkan, Western Maharashtra, North Maharashtra, Marathwada and Vidarbha. “Candidates who work in the larger interest of society, especially on issues of rights, safety, equal opportunity and social upliftment, will find us firmly behind them,” Sarang said.
Drawing attention to the growing menace of substance abuse, Sarang said candidates committed to de-addiction programmes, rehabilitation, youth guidance and public awareness initiatives would also be supported.
He concluded by saying, “We will be announcing a list of candidates who meet our criteria soon.”