Triple Talaq petitioner who joined BJP now in poverty

While BJP is planning to make the Triple talaq bill a major poll issue in West Bengal, one of the key petitioners from the state against the custom of triple talaq Ishrat Jahan is languishing in abject poverty.

Jahan who joined BJP last year was initially expected to be one of the major minority faces of the party in Bengal. But all that has become a thing of the past. Speaking to DH Jahan said that the BJP leadership has cold-shouldered her and she no longer gets any importance in the party.

Residing in a dingy lane of Howrah district, Jahan now struggles to make both ends meet for herself and her son. Her three other daughters reside with their father Murtaza Ansari.

“Forget politics. I am struggling to get both ends met for me and my son. I don’t even have money to get my son admitted in school,” said Jahan.

She also said that she does not have any other source of income and has to depend on one of her sister’s help who provides her with a monthly amount of about Rs 2000.

BJP sources revealed that initially after she joined the party there was a possibility of her becoming a candidate in the Lok Sabha elections. But the state leadership overlooked her during candidate selection.

An annoyed Jahan did not even want to say much about the BJP state leadership’s decision “ The party leaders have acted according to their discretion. I don’t know much about it. Please ask them,” said Jahan.

The situation has become as such that she barely gets any invitation from the state leadership to take part in campaigning. She attends the party programmes voluntarily.

“ I also went to Narendra Modi’s rally in Kolkata on my own,” said Jahan.

However, poverty has not dampened her spirit and Jahan is determined to carry on her fight against the custom of triple talaq. After more than a decade long legal battle, Jahan is now fighting for her survival.