Poll wins make BJP reach out to Pasmanda Muslims

Buoyed by bypoll victories in Muslim-dominated Azamgarh and Rampur in UP, the saffron party makes a bold move

When the BJP won Rampur and Azamgarh constituencies in the recent Lok Sabha bypolls in Uttar Pradesh, it gave the party something to think about.

Here were two constituencies with a sizeable Muslim population which traditionally voted for the SP. But this time the saffron party turned the tables on Akhilesh Yadav's party.

The major upset came after the highly polarised Assembly polls, in which around 7-8% of Muslims are said to have voted for the saffron party that won an unprecedented second term to govern India’s biggest state.

Though Muslims may not have played a major role in the BJP’s win in Azamgarh, the win in Rampur (which has 50% Muslims) indicated that a section of the community had supported the party.

The ripples were felt in the national executive meeting of the party in Hyderabad, where no less than Narendra Modi is said to have asked leaders to reach out to backward classes among non-Hindus.

Also read: Spurned by SP, BSP, Om Prakash Rajbhar eyes BJP return

Modi’s appeal led to the BJP setting its eyes on Pasmanda Muslims, looking to woo the group ahead of the next General Elections due in 2024.

Pasmandas (which means ‘left behind’ in Persian) are backward classes (OBCs) among Muslims and are said to constitute 85 to 90% of the community. They languish at the bottom of the hierarchy when compared to Ashrafs, who are the elite.

Pasmandas are in substantial numbers in UP, especially in Varanasi, Moradabad and some other places.

The Rajinder Sachar Committee — which looked into the social, educational and economic status of Muslims — in its report noted the presence of “a descent based social stratification” among the community who also exhibited features of the “Hindu caste system” such as “hierarchical ordering of social groups” among others.

"... one can discern three groups among Muslims: (1) those without any social disabilities, the ashrafs (2) those equivalent to Hindu OBCs, the ajlafs, and (3) those equivalent to Hindu SCs, the arzals. Those who are referred to as Muslim OBCs combine (2) and (3),” the report, submitted in 2006, said.

Pasmandas have long complained of lack of political and economic representation and have several demands, including reservation for Dalit Muslims.

The saffron party has now chalked out an elaborate strategy to reach out to this section of Muslims to break the stranglehold of the Opposition on the critical vote bank.

Muslim leaders of the BJP have now been tasked with reaching out to Pasmandas.

“We are no longer untouchable to Muslims. A large section of the community, especially those who were benefitted by the pro-poor schemes launched by the BJP government, had voted for us in the UP Assembly polls. We can expand our support base in the community,” a senior BJP leader in Lucknow told DH.

The saffron party certainly showed positive intent when it made Danish Azad Ansari, a Pasmanda Muslim, a minister in the Yogi Adityanath government. Ansari is among the leaders entrusted with the responsibility of wooing the community.

“The BJP governments at the Centre and in the state have taken several steps for the benefit of people. Our governments do not indulge in the politics of appeasement but they also do not discriminate on the basis of religion or caste,” Ansari, who hails from eastern UP’s Ballia, said recently.

Fayaz Ahmed Faizi, who has been working among Pasmandas, feels that BJP’s outreach may have a positive impact and yield rich political dividends to the saffron party.

Scepticism

Opposition parties as well as some political experts, however, are not so sure.

“Merely reaching out to Pasmanda Muslims will not be enough. The BJP will have to win their trust….it will have to rein in its leaders, who have been regularly spewing venom against Muslims,” Liyaqat Ali, a journalist, said.

Another Muslim journalist also echoed similar sentiments. “The way the UP government targeted Muslims after large-scale demonstrations across the state following BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma’s objectionable remarks on the Prophet shows the mindset of the party,” he remarked.

He also referred to the video of thrashing of the Muslim youths, who had taken part in the protests, inside a police station in Saharanpur as evidence of the BJP’s duplicity.

“Prophet Muhammad is revered by every Muslim, including Pasmandas. Do you expect them to support the party whose leaders make such remarks?” he asked.

SP leaders also sought to pick holes in the BJP’s claim that Muslims had voted for it in the Assembly polls and in the two LS bypolls in Azamgarh and Rampur.

They said that BSP's Muslim candidate, who managed to bag over 1.5 lakh votes, ensured the victory of the BJP nominee by dividing the Muslim votes in Azamgarh.

It will be interesting to see how the Muslim elite reacts to this development, and if the electoral machine of the BJP manages to make a dent among Pasmandas ahead of the 2024 LS polls.