RSS-linked Muslim teams head for J&K

Backup from R'than for BJP campaign

As part of the BJP's desperate  attempt to woo voters in Jammu and Kashmir, RSS-affiliated Rashtriya Muslim Manch will send its teams from Rajasthan to areas in the Valley considered unsafe for the party leaders to campaign.

Sources said the teams from Rajasthan will comprise volunteers of Rashtriya Muslim Manch (RMM), BJP’s Muslim councillors and some clerics from the Ajmer Dargah.

The teams will leave for various pockets of J&K to mobilise voters in the last three phases of the polls scheduled on December 9, 16 and 20. The Bharatiya Janata Party is trying to reach every sensitive part of the poll-bound state.

When contacted, the office bearers of RMM refused to comment. The leaders were of the view that their visits are a part of party’s election strategy which cannot be disclosed.

However, some RMM leaders said the teams from the state will be sent in phases in a planned manner.

“The Muslims have voted for the BJP throughout the country and our brothers in J&K will also support the party. We will explain to the people of J&K that other parties like the Congress, National Conference and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have done nothing for them in the last so many years,” said an RMM office bearer.

Development agenda

“Our team will brief them on the development agenda, vision and feelings of our Prime Minister Nardendra Modi,” the office bearer said.

The RMM leaders said the teams will carry printed material like posters, banners and  pamphlets displaying the list of work done by the new Prime Minister for the minority community.

The infrastructure work initiated in J&K and relief work carried out during the recent floods has also been highlighted.

The RMM leaders said the teams will also carry video recordings of the campaign undertaken by the Rajasthan BJP and local people for collection of relief material for the J&K flood victims.

The party, through pamphlets, promises to provide space and shelter to Kashmiri traders during winter to sell goods in major Indian cities, including Jaipur.