India, Oct. 24 -- Political parties have given only 34 Muslims candidates tickets for the Bihar assembly polls, even as Muslims account for 17.7% of the state's population. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has fielded 18 (12.58%) Muslim candidates out of 143. Fifteen of 144 RJD candidates were Muslims in 2020.

The ruling Janata Dal (United) or JD(U), which claims to have worked for the community's welfare, has given tickets to four Muslims (3.96%) out of 101. The JD (U) fielded 10 Muslims in 2020. The Congress has fielded 10 Muslim (out of 61) candidates.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has not given tickets to Muslims, and its ally Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), one. Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party promised to field 40 Muslims but ...