A Akhter / News Desk

Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh on Tuesday got Muslim minister after a long time. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath on Tuesday expanded his cabinet inducting 28 ministers including Arif Aqueel, the lone Muslim face in the new council of ministers.

Aqueel is the first Muslim minister in the state after 15 years.  Aqeel has been an MLA since 1990 from Bhopal North constituency.  He is also known as “Sher-e-Bhopal” in state.  Started his political career as an activist student leader in 1972, he was appointed as President of Saifia College Student Committee in 1977, and in the same year he was elected as Vice President of Youth Congress and NSUI of Madhya Pradesh.

He won his first MLA election, as an independent MLA, in the 9th assembly election by defeating Senior Congress Leader and Ex-Minister Hasanat Siddiqui in 1990.

 

In Chattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel inducted senior Congress leader Mohammad Akbar into his council of ministers among others. Akbar is the sole Muslim MLA in the 90 member Assembly of the tribal-dominated state. He has won from Kawardha constituency in the state.

Akbar was also a minister in Congress government during Ajit Jogi’s regime. Though in the last Assembly polls, Akbar had lost, he won repeatedly from various constituencies across the State.

Though Chhattisgarh doesn’t have a sizable Muslim population–the community is concentrated in cities and towns. Interestingly Akbar has won from constituencies that had less than 5% Muslims.