India, Jan. 13 -- With the January 15 civic elections approaching, political parties have begun jockeying for support among Mumbai's largest minority, the Muslim community.

Muslims constitute a quarter of the city's population, but the community has never voted as a bloc. Historically, Muslims have aligned with parties seen as secular, such as the Congress, as a bulwark against the BJP's aggressive Hindutva ideology.

The Muslim vote, however, started to split with the entry of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and later the Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM). In the last BMC election, the SP and AIMIM secured six and two seats respectively, in Muslim-dominated neighbourhoods.

In the present scenario, the politic...