By Muslim Mirror Special Correspondent

The election to head the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), the apex forum of Indian Muslims formed to protect legal and constitutional rights of the community, has taken an interesting turn after Maulana Arshad Madani’s “sudden and surprised” withdrawal form candidature for the top post.

Sources close to Jamiat reveal that Maulana Arshad Madani may to attend the Indore meeting of AIMPLB due to his health issues.

The election for the top post necessitated after the death of Maulana Rabe Hasani Nadvai, who headed the body. The meeting to elect the new president of the Board will be held on 3th June in Indore.

In a surprise move, Maulana Arshad Madani, who was being  seen as a strong contender, apologized for becoming the one. After his withdrawal, the candidature of Maulana Maulana Khaleelur Rahman Sajjad Naumani has become very strong for presidentship of the AIMPLB.

An online survey conducted by  Muslim Mirror on Twitter ( 19th April 2023), Maulana Sajjad Nomani emerged as the most popular choice for the post, getting 71% of the total vote followed  by Maulana Arshad Madani and  Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani who got 16% and 14% of total vote respectively. 714 People mostly prominent Muslim intellectuals, scholars, researchers, academicians, professional and university students, participated in the poll.

Mufti Abul Qasim Nonami, the Muhtamin of Darul-Uloom, Deoband is also in the race.

While Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani  is known for issuing immature statement,  Mufti Abul Qasim Nonami  lacks political vision and wisdom and is mostly confined to the affairs of Darul-Uloom, Deoband.His candidature will also not go well with another Muslim groups like Barelvi and Shia as Maulana Nomani belongs to the core ideology of Deobandi School of thought. On the contrary, Maulana Sajjad Nomani is known for taking a stand on the issues related to Muslim community. He is equally popular among Muslim youth and intellectuals apart for being associated with Dalits and other backward sections of the society. Maulana has also good bonding with Sikh and Christian communities making him the most proffered choice for the spot.

Its to be noted while Madanis were not allowed or welcomed to address the protesters of Shaheen Bagh and JMI students during the CAA/NRC protests, Maulana Sajjad Nomani addressed the protesters twice.It shows his courage, vision, integrity to the cause , commitment  to the affairs of the Indian Muslims as well as his popularity among the masses.

Maulana Mohammad Fazlur Rahim Mujaddidi, Chancellor Jamea Tul Hidaya is beeing seen as the main contender for the post of general secretary while  Maulana Ateeq Ahmad Bastavi, who teaches at Nadwatul Ulema is also in the race for the post. Meanwhile, Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahali is reportedly lobbying for the post of general secretary. Maulana Firangi Mahli is known for his proximity with the power irrespective of ideology. He was close to Malayalam Singh Yadav and now he has good relations with Yogi. He  participated in a candle  march to ward off corona virus.

Name of Dr Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas is reportedly being discussed for the post of chief spokesperson of the Board, while Delhi based CA Kamal Faruqui is also trying to jump on the board through the post of spokesperson. While Ilyas is a non controversial, soft spoken and  multilingual personality  with political vision and wisdom Kamal Faruqui is known for his politics of opportunism. He was in SP, after being kicked from SP he  unsuccessfully tried to join AAP. He also met with Sri Ravi Shankar in a bid to mediate for the government sponsored formula on Babri Masjid. But when the matter came to the public he left for Kashmir switching off his mobile. Faruqui  had also stoked controversy by giving misleading comment about homo sexuality in Madarsas.